Boy, 9, paralysed for life after being shot in neck by Israeli soldiers

Published

6 months ago

December 2, 2024

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In a West Bank clinic, the father of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy showed us where the bullet shot by an Israeli soldier entered his son’s neck and where it left his small body through his spine.

Kareem Sharaab had been outside his home when the Israeli military entered his village in the occupied West Bank.

He’d been sent out to the shops for groceries. The short walk would change his life forever.

His grandfather, Hani, told me what happened next. “There was nothing going on then. No clashes, nothing. The kid was just playing on the road. Out of nowhere, the sound of gunfire, and the voice of children screaming out that Kareem has been injured.”

Hani rushed down to his grandson and carried his body hundreds of yards to an ambulance.

Paramedics fought to staunch the flow of blood and save Kareem. Kareem’s father, Shadi, showed us a video of those moments.

“The first time I saw this, I ran to the bathroom to cry. I can’t bear it. I can’t handle it. It’s too much for me,” he told me.

Kareem’s life was saved but he has been left paralysed from the waist down. He will never walk again. His brothers and sisters are traumatised by what happened, his father added.

“Look, before the incident, my children had normal lives,” Shadi said. “Today, they’re startled by sounds and terrified when they see soldiers at checkpoints. They can’t get the idea out of their minds that a soldier will always shoot at you.”

They are one of hundreds of families across the West Bank and East Jerusalem whose lives have been shattered by Israelis shooting their children.

The death toll of Palestinian children killed by Israel in shootings and airstrikes in the occupied West Bank has doubled since 7 October last year.

By the end of November, 170 under the age of 18 have lost their lives, according to DCI (Defense for Children International) Palestine and Save the Children.

Of those killed 70 were 15 or younger and four were below the age of nine. At least 1,400 children have reportedly been wounded.

Sky News has looked into each of the children’s deaths and compiled photos of as many of them as we could find.

In some cases, Israelis claim the children they killed had been threatening soldiers with knives, guns or petrol bombs.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces told Sky News that Palestinian minors in the West Bank “often participate in violent disturbances and hostile activities against security forces and Israeli citizens. In addition, terrorist organisations operate and embed themselves within the civilian population, using civilians as human shields”.

All cases involving children or civilians being killed, the IDF told us, are “thoroughly investigated”. Nine-year-old Kareem’s case is still under investigation, nine months after it happened.

The Israeli military has strict open-fire regulations. Soldiers can only use lethal fire in life-threatening situations and only then as a last resort and are instructed to shoot at the legs if possible. However, Israeli soldiers are rarely prosecuted or convicted for breaching those regulations despite the high death toll.

We went to Jenin to find a family mourning one of Israel’s latest child victims. The mother of 14-year-old Rayan Al Sayed, Reem, told us of their loss.

“I miss him every hour,” she told me. “I haven’t slept in two days. Every night I feel him. He comes home to me, and says ‘mom I’m here’, ‘mom I can see you’. When I pray, I see him in front of me, smiling, bless him.”

Rayan’s uncle, Fuad, took us to the place where Israelis shot him twice, very close to the family home.

The Israeli military said soldiers had been attacked with explosives and firearms.

In a statement, they said: “During security forces’ activities to arrest a wanted individual in Jenin on 14 October 2024, terrorists opened fire at our forces from several locations, who responded with gunfire, and two armed terrorists were neutralised.

“During the operation, a terrorist threw explosives at our forces, who responded with fire, resulting in identified hits. The circumstances of the case are under investigation.”

Palestinian eyewitnesses we spoke to in Jenin denied the Israelis came under fire and said Rayan was unarmed and not throwing stones or anything else.

“One jeep started firing,” one eyewitness told us. “Then the other did as well. Both did. The one over there fired directly at us here, hitting the boy in his chest and neck.”

Rayan’s friends picked him up in their arms and rushed him away, taking him to hospital where he died of his wounds not long after arriving, video footage shot by an eyewitness showed. The footage did not appear to show anyone was armed.

Itamar Ben Gvir, the Israeli national security minister and far-right extremist, has called for Israeli military regulations to be relaxed to allow soldiers to shoot any “potential” threat, including stone throwers.

Its military insists the rules have not been changed but in practice more and more children and teenagers are being shot, many dying from their injuries, whether they are throwing stones or not.

Alison Griffin, head of conflict and humanitarian campaigns at Save the Children UK, said the deaths of Palestinian children in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 2023 highlight “a highly concerning and ongoing pattern of violence against children in the context of occupation”.

She added: “As an occupying power, Israel has clear obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians, particularly children who are entitled to special protections.

“The use of disproportionate and excessive force, especially against children, constitutes a grave violation of these laws.

“The vast majority of these children are being killed without any clear justification… it is essential that independent investigations are carried out to hold those responsible accountable.”

World

Palestinians flock to Gaza aid centres despite concerns – as lawyers call for sanctions on Israel

Published

6 hours ago

May 27, 2025

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Palestinians flock to Gaza aid centres despite concerns - as lawyers call for sanctions on Israel

Thousands of Palestinians have flocked to aid distribution sites in Gaza with desperation for food overcoming concerns over Israeli-enforced checks at the centres.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US, said on Tuesday it had distributed around 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals – just a fraction of what is needed, aid agencies say.

The centres have opened as hundreds of legal professionals in the UK, including lawyers and former judges, accused Israel of “genocide” and “war crimes”.

Crowds including women and children could be seen at one centre in Rafah, southern Gaza, where people received packages including rice, flour, canned beans, pasta, olive oil, biscuits and sugar.

Witnesses in Rafah said Israeli gunfire was heard after desperate people broke fences to reach supplies.

The Israeli military said its forces did not direct aerial gunfire towards the centre, but rather fired warning shots in an area outside the hub.

In a statement, it said control over the situation had been established, with aid distribution to continue as planned.

Many Palestinians stayed away amid fears over Israel’s plan to use biometric screening procedures on those receiving vital food packages.

Israeli officials said one advantage of the new aid system is the chance to screen recipients to exclude anyone they say is connected with Hamas.

Humanitarian groups briefed on the plans say anyone receiving aid will have to submit to facial recognition technology – which many Palestinians fear will end up in Israeli hands to track and possibly target them.

Father-of-seven Abu Ahmed said: “As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid.”

He continued: “I am so scared because they said the company [GHF] belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance [Hamas] said not to go.”

UN boycotts aid foundation

Israel previously said its forces would not be involved in the distribution points but its endorsement of the plan, which resembles Israeli schemes floated previously, has led to many questioning the neutrality of GHF.

The United Nations and major international aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF – accusing it of undermining the principle that aid should be distributed based on need.

“Humanitarian assistance must not be politicised or militarised,” said Christian Cardon, chief spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Ex-judges call for sanctions on Israel

Over 800 legal professionals – including former Supreme Court judges – have published an open letter calling for the UK to impose sanctions on Israel.

The letter says “genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide”. It continues: “War crimes, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law are being committed.”

Israel has consistently denied these accusations.

As a small flow of aid has arrived in Gaza after Israel’s months-long blockade, Israeli forces have kept up attacks on various targets in the territory.

Some 3,901 Palestinians have been killed since a ceasefire collapsed in mid-March, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

As the GHF centres opened on Monday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 36 people in a school-turned-shelter that was hit as people slept, according to local health officials.

Israel said it targeted militants operating from the school.

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Controversial US and Israel-backed aid group starts operations in Gaza

Published

15 hours ago

May 27, 2025

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Controversial US and Israel-backed aid group starts operations in Gaza

A new aid system has opened its first distribution centres in Gaza, according to a US-backed organisation dealing with supplies.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began its operations in the territory on Monday, following the resignation of its director, Jake Wood, over its independence.

Gaza’s 2.3m population has been pushed towards famine by Israel’s almost three-month blockade.

The GHF said lorryloads of food – it did not say how many – had been delivered to its hubs, and distribution to Palestinians had begun.

“More trucks with aid will be delivered tomorrow, with the flow of aid increasing each day,” it said in a statement.

The controversial group, backed by Israel and the United States, has been rejected by the United Nations and other aid groups.

Follow the latest developments in our live blog

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF.

They claim Israel is weaponising food, and the new distribution system will be ineffective and lead to further displacement of Palestinians.

They also argue the GHF will fail to meet local needs, and violates humanitarian principles that prohibit a warring party from controlling humanitarian assistance.

In the meantime, scores of Palestinians in Gaza, like Islam Abu Taima, have resorted to searching through rubbish to find food.

She found a small pile of cooked rice, scraps of bread, and a box with a few pieces of cheese inside it – which she said she will serve to her five children.

“We’re dying of hunger,” she told the Associated Press news agency.

“If we don’t eat, we’ll die.”

It is unclear how many of the GHF’s aid trucks will enter Gaza.

It claims it will reach one million Palestinians by the end of the week.

There are questions, however, over who is funding it and how it will work.

It has been set up as part of an Israeli plan – rather than a UN distribution effort.

Israel, which suggested a similar plan earlier this year, has said it will not be involved in distributing the aid but supported the plan and would provide security.

It says aid deliveries into Gaza are taken by Hamas instead of going to civilians.

Aid groups, however, say there is no evidence of this happening on a systemic basis.

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King urged to seek Canadian apology

Israel began to allow a limited amount of food into Gaza last week – after a blockade that prevented food, medicine, fuel and other goods from entering the Palestinian enclave.

A letter has been signed by hundreds of judges and lawyers calling on the UK government to impose trade sanctions on Israel.

It also calls for Israeli ministers to be sanctioned and the suspension of Israel from the UN over “serious breaches of international law”.

“Genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or that, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide,” the letter says.

The Israeli government has repeatedly dismissed allegations of genocide in Gaza.

More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its ground invasion of Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, following the deadly attacks by the militant group on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.

The health ministry’s figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters in Gaza.

World

King Charles urged to seek Canadian apology for historical abuse of British children

Published

18 hours ago

May 27, 2025

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King Charles urged to seek Canadian apology for historical abuse of British children

King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.

Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.

More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.

Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.

Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.

“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.

John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.

“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.

“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.

“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”

More on this story:
The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada

John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.

“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.

“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”

The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.

On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.

Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”