A Palestinian child was killed, and two others were seriously, injured on Tuesday when an unexploded piece of Israeli military ordnance detonated in the central Jordan Valley.
Ahmad Ghawanma, head of the al‑Jiftlik Municipality, said the children, residents of al‑Jiftlik in the central Jordan Valley, were near the area of Furush Beit Dajan when the device exploded.
He confirmed that one child was killed instantly, while the two others sustained critical injuries, and added that Israeli forces prevented residents from approaching the site following the blast.
Local sources said a group of children from al‑Jiftlik had been gathering Akkoub (Gundelia) plants in the hills of Furush Beit Dajan, near the central Jordan Valley community, at the same time Israeli forces were conducting a military training exercise in the area.
According to the available information, one of the wounded children, Mohammad Ibrahim Sleem Abu Dallakh, was later pronounced dead after succumbing to his wounds.
Persistent Threat in the Jordan Valley
Explosions caused by leftover Israeli military ordnance remain a recurring danger in the Jordan Valley, one of the most heavily militarized areas in the occupied West Bank.
Large sections of the region are designated by the Israeli military as “firing zones,” where live‑fire exercises, tank maneuvers, and weapons testing are routinely conducted.
According to Palestinian officials and human‑rights groups, unexploded shells, mines, and other remnants of military activity have caused numerous deaths and injuries over the years, particularly among children who encounter them while herding livestock or playing in open fields.
Displacement and Pressure on Communities
The incident comes amid escalating pressure on Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley, where families face repeated invasions, land confiscation, and attacks by illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers.
In recent weeks, several families in the al‑Maleh and al‑Mayta areas were forced to dismantle their homes and leave due to intensified colonizer violence and military restrictions.
Local councils and rights groups warn that the combination of military ordnance, colonizer attacks, and land seizures is creating increasingly unlivable conditions for Palestinian communities across the Jordan Valley.
