Armed settlers said to injure at least 14 Palestinians, including infant, elderly couple

Extremist settlers injured at least 14 Palestinians in a raid on a West Bank village overnight Thursday-Friday, Arabic outlets reported.

According to the reports, armed settlers entered the village of Khallet al-Daba in the South Hebron Hills and assaulted residents with pepper spray, sticks and sharp tools.

The IDF and Israel Police confirmed the incident, announcing that police had launched an investigation.

Police told The Times of Israel that 14 Palestinian residents were transported to receive medical treatment, according to witness testimonies they took upon arriving at the scene.

Among the Palestinians reportedly hurt were a three-month-old infant girl and an elderly couple.

The infant had been exposed to the pepper spray, while the elderly man and his wife both sustained fractures, cuts and trauma to the head, according to Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency.

The agency named the elderly couple as Ali and Amina al-Dabbaseh, residents of the town.

Five others had sustained bruising, bone fractures and lacerations as a result of the attack, including the infant girl’s parents and two older brothers, the agency reported.

تغطية صحفية: إصابات جراء هجوم المستوطنين على قرية خلة الضبع بمسافر يطا في الخليل pic.twitter.com/Oof2M2K5a6

— الجرمق الإخباري (@aljarmaqnet) September 5, 2025

In a video taken of last night’s attack, gunshots can be heard as men yell in the background. Beams from a flashlight are seen in the distance. Later footage shows a man being loaded into an ambulance.

Though the settlers were said to have been armed and shots were heard in the distance, none of those hurt were wounded by gunfire.

The IDF confirmed Friday morning that it received a report about Palestinians being attacked by several Israeli citizens overnight.

“Upon receiving the report, IDF forces and the Israel Police rushed to the location. When they arrived in the area, no suspects were identified,” said an army spokesperson, who added that the IDF is aware of reports of injuries.

The Israel Police confirmed that they have launched an investigation into the incident.

Security forces have rarely arrested Israelis in incidents of settler violence that have been taking place on a near-daily basis throughout the West Bank. Palestinians and left-wing activists have claimed that the army and police purposefully refrain from cracking down on the phenomenon, spurring it on further.

In the rare case that Israelis are arrested, the suspects are typically set free soon afterward.