IDF investigating Palestinian reports of toddler killed by Israeli fire in West Bank raid

The IDF says it is investigating after Palestinian health officials said a toddler was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Jenin area in the northern West Bank.

According to the IDF, during operations in the village of ash-Shuhada, just outside Jenin, troops opened fire on gunmen who were holed up in a building.

In a statement, the military says it is aware of claims that civilians were harmed by the gunfire, and it is investigating.

A military source says troops had reached the building following intelligence on gunmen in the area.

The soldiers began to carry out a tactic known as “pressure cooker,” which involves escalating the volume of fire against a building to flush suspects out.

According to the IDF source, the soldiers used a loudspeaker to call on the suspects to come out and threw a stun grenade, though nobody came out of the building.

Then the soldiers opened fire on the building, and moments later identified a wounded toddler.

Palestinian medics were called to the scene and the two-and-a-half-year-old was evacuated along with her pregnant mother, who was also lightly injured.

The soldiers are continuing to scan the building now, the military source adds.