A Palestinian couple and two of their young children were killed when Israeli security forces opened fire on their car in the northern West Bank town of Tammun on Saturday night, Palestinian officials said. The Israel Police confirmed the incident and claimed the car had sped toward troops.
The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry identified the dead as Ali Khaled Bani Awda, 37; his wife Wa’ad, 35; and their sons Muhammad and Othman, ages 5 and 7, respectively.
The father was shot in the head, chest, and left arm, while the others were shot in the head, the PA ministry said. Their bodies were taken to the Turkish Public Hospital in nearby Tubas, according to the ministry.
Wafa, the PA’s official news agency, reported that another two of the couple’s sons, Mustafa and Khaled, aged 8 and 11 respectively, suffered light shrapnel wounds to the head.
Israel is investigating the incident, which police said occurred as military and Border Police forces entered the village to arrest terror suspects.
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During the arrest operation, according to a police statement issued Sunday morning, “a vehicle accelerated toward the forces, which felt endangered and opened fire.”
“As a result, four Palestinians in the vehicle were killed,” the statement added. According to a military official, the gunfire was carried out by Border Police officers.
. استشهاد 4 أفراد من عائلة واحدة برصاص قوات الاحتلال بعد إصابتهم بالرأس في بلدة طمون جنوب طوباس
– علي خالد صايل بني عودة ٣٧ سنة
– وعد عثمان عقل بني عودة ٣٥ سنة
– محمد علي خالد بني عودة ٥ سنوات
– عثمان علي خالد بني عودة ٦ سنوات
كانو رايحين يشترو اواعي العيد رجعو بالكفن???????? pic.twitter.com/f8swNsNHDM
— فلسطينية والروح سورية (@am_rfyf34923) March 15, 2026
The Haaretz daily cited villagers in Tammun who said a unit of IDF special forces entered the town in a vehicle with a Palestinian license plate, and was later joined by reinforcements.
Following the shooting, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces prevented its crews from reaching the injured inside the vehicle and forced them to leave the area, only later allowing them to retrieve the four bodies along with the two injured children, according to Wafa as well as a Hebrew media report.
After the shooting, IDF forces impounded the family’s vehicle, Haaretz reported. Footage published by Palestinian media showed the forces towing the gunshot-riddled vehicle away.
قوات الاحتلال تصادر المركبة التي أطلقت النار عليها، عقب مجزرة ارتكبتها في بلدة طمون جنوب طوباس، وأسفرت عن استشهاد أربعة أفراد من عائلة واحدة كانوا بداخلها. pic.twitter.com/RyNBeNKsT1
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 15, 2026
The villagers who spoke to Haaretz said the family had gone shopping for the holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which will begin this weekend.
They said the mother, Wa’ad, was hit first, screamed, and was killed while trying to protect her children, while the father, Ali, was hit by multiple bullets and died of his wounds. Khaled, 11, was said to be injured by shrapnel while trying to protect his 7 year-old brother Othman, who was killed along with their 5 year-old brother Muhammad.
According to the report, 8-year-old Mustafa was also injured by shrapnel in his eye.
Ynet said that during the operation, Israeli forces arrested three people, and quoted a security source as saying that the troops were seeking two Palestinian suspects who had thrown an explosive at IDF troops.
Wafa named those arrested as Mahmoud Hassan Bani Odeh and his son Hassan, 19. Troops who raided that family’s home also detained 15-year-old Yaman Hossam Bani Odeh, the outlet said.
A family member lifts the body of 5-year-old Mohammed Bani Odeh during the funeral of a Palestinian family killed by Israeli troops while in their vehicle, in the West Bank town of Tammun on March 15, 2026. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Violence in the West Bank has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war started, according to the PA health ministry. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 65 civilians and Israeli security personnel have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes during raids in Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
The same period has also seen a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025. The total for 2024 was 682 incidents.
On Saturday, according to Palestinian officials, Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man in an attack on a village in the West Bank.
AFP contributed to this report.
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