On Wednesday, a Palestinian worker was killed, and eight others were injured, one seriously, after Israeli forces and illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers pursued workers’ vehicles and opened live fire at them in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, causing several vehicles to overturn.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medics, along with local ambulance teams, handled the body of the slain worker and treated three injured Palestinians, including one who had been shot with live ammunition.
The victim was identified as 31‑year‑old Yosri Majed Abu Qbeita, from the town of Yatta. He succumbed to his wounds shortly after being shot during the pursuit.
Activist Osama Makhamra said Israeli forces and groups of illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers chased multiple Palestinian‑owned vehicles in the area between Um Al‑Khair and Fateh Sidrah in Masafer Yatta.
He explained that soldiers and colonizers opened fire at the fleeing vehicles, causing several to overturn.
These attacks resulted in the death of Abu Qbeita, in addition to eight injuries, including one who suffered life‑threatening wounds.
Makhamra added that Israeli forces have been preventing residents and volunteer teams from continuing search efforts for missing or injured individuals in the rugged terrain.
He said soldiers have been firing live ammunition toward anyone attempting to reach the area, further endangering civilians and obstructing rescue operations.
A day earlier, five Palestinian workers were injured in two separate vehicular attacks by Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers, while Israeli forces abducted five others near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, early Tuesday.
The attacks come amid a pattern of escalating violence by Israeli forces and illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers in Masafer Yatta, an area repeatedly targeted by invasions, home demolitions, and forced displacement measures aimed at pressuring Palestinian communities to abandon their land.
