On December 20, 2025, in Qabatiya, Jenin, West Bank, Muhammad Abu Mualla, 16, succumbed to his wounds after being shot by an Israeli soldier during a raid on the town.

CCTV footage shows him unarmed, walking home in Qabatiya, when Israeli soldiers, posted in ambush at the corner of a street, fired at him at close range. He was shot directly, and paramedics were blocked from providing assistance. His body was seized after he bled to death.

IDF spin:

"In a continuous offensive effort in the Menashe Brigade: Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit eliminates two terrorists within minutes. During offensive activity by the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit a short time ago in the Qabatiya area in the Menashe Brigade, a terrorist threw a brick at the force. The force responded with gunfire and eliminated the terrorist. In parallel, during another activity in the Silet al-Harithiya area in the Menashe Brigade, a terrorist threw an explosive charge at the force. The force responded with gunfire and eliminated the terrorist. In both incidents, there were no casualties among our forces."

Defense for Children - Palestine's investigation:

"Rayan Mohammad AbdelQader Abu Mualla, 16, was shot and killed by Israeli forces around 7 p.m. on December 20 in the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, southwest of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Rayan was among a group of Palestinian boys and youths gathered in an alleyway east of the main road in the Al-Saba’na neighborhood, as military vehicles repeatedly drove back and forth along the neighborhood’s main road. Rayan and the others were not involved in any confrontation, but were unable to return home due to the presence of the military vehicle.

According to witnesses, the soldiers became aware of the youths trapped inside the alley. The military vehicle continued moving in the road before stopping at the end of it, about 200 meters from the alley’s entrance off the main road. Three soldiers then exited from the military vehicles. The soldiers deliberately turned off the engine of the military vehicle, attempting to avoid alerting the youths that the forces withdrew from the area. Two soldiers then positioned themselves next to a wall located on the main street, which intersects with the entrance to the alley.

According to a circulated CCTV, Rayan exited the alley and began walking along the side road toward the main street. When he was about two meters (7 feet) from the main street, soldiers came out from behind a wall and fired at him at close range, striking him and causing him to fall to the ground.

Rayan left bleeding for 20 to 30 minutes while he was surrounded by the soldiers, who prevented the ambulance from approaching. The soldiers then placed Rayan inside a military vehicle, then left the area. The Ministry of Health announced the death of Rayan Abu Mualla at 8 p.m. and that his body was being held by the Israeli army.

Israeli forces entered Qabatiya around 6:30 p.m. with two heavily armored military vehicles and deployed in several neighborhoods, deliberately blaring their sirens and making noise disturbances. No clashes broke out in the town during the incursion. The forces withdrew from the town at around 7:30 p.m.

Due to the confiscation of Rayan’s body, DCIP is not able to verify the location or number of bullet wounds that he sustained".

Defense for Children - Palestine statement:

"Israeli forces and settlers have killed 56 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces have withheld the bodies of at least 63 Palestinian children since June 2016, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Six of the children’s bodies have since been released to their families, while 57 Palestinian children’s bodies remain withheld by Israeli authorities. Israel’s practice of withholding Palestinian bodies is a form of collective punishment, a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and deprives Palestinian families of the ability to lay their children to rest. In September 2019, the Israeli Supreme Court approved the practice of confiscating human remains after several legal challenges to the policy. On November 27, 2019, Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett ordered all bodies of Palestinians alleged to have attacked Israeli citizens or soldiers to be withheld and not returned to their families. Decades of systemic impunity has created a situation where Israeli forces shoot to kill without limit. As Palestinian children are increasingly targets in the West Bank, Israeli forces’ rules of engagement seemingly allow direct targeting of Palestinian children where no threat exists to justify the use of intentional lethal force."

B'tselem's investigation:

"On Saturday, 20 December 2025, Israeli forces raided the town of Qabatiya in the West Bank. Local youths responded by throwing stones at the armored jeeps. During the raid, and after the stone-throwing had ceased, a soldier shot 16 year old Rayan Abu M’ala. Eyewitnesses heard 3–5 shots fired from close range. The Israeli military claimed that the shooting was a response to Abu M’ala throwing a brick at the forces. However, footage from the scene refutes this claim. After the shooting, soldiers prevented a Palestinian ambulance from evacuating Abu M’ala, leaving him on the ground for about half an hour. He was later taken in a military jeep. His body has been held by Israel ever since. This is not an isolated case, but a direct result of a permissive open-fire policy in the West Bank. Since October 2023, Israel has killed 1,022 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 221 minors. Under Israel’s apartheid regime, Palestinian lives continue to be treated as expendable. Even when killings are carried out in front of cameras, and when it is clear they were committed in violation of the rules and the law, no one is held accountable. The international community has a duty to do everything in its power to stop Israel’s crimes."

Full name of the martyr:

Rayan Muhammad Abdel Qader Abu Mualla