The Palestinian health ministry has said Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank, amid escalating violence in the territory since the bombardment in Gaza began on October 7, AFP reports.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Naeem Abdullah Samha, 15, was killed “by occupation (Israeli army) bullets” in the city of Qalqilya, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said in a statement.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported that Samha was shot in the chest.

He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead of his wounds there, the agency said, which gave no reason for the shooting.