One child was sitting on her mother’s lap. Another had just stepped outside his home. Another was picking almonds.
The United Nations reports that at least 18 children under the age of 15 have been killed by Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank this year, marking the third consecutive year child fatalities in the territory have reached the double digits.
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Mohammed Rabee, 48, sits with his grandchildren beside photos of his 14-year-old son, Amer Rabee, who was killed by Israeli soldiers while in a roadside thicket in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A tree stands along Highway 60 on April 22, 2025, near the spot where 14-year-old Amer Rabee was killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Wafa Jazar, 42, sits for a portrait, holding the clothes that her 14-year-old son, Ahmad Jazar, was wearing when he was shot by Israeli soldiers, at their home in the West Bank village of Sebastia, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Blood-stained clothes, which Wafa Jazar, 42, says were worn by her 14-year-old son, Ahmad Jazar, when he was shot by Israeli soldiers, are laid out for a photo in a room of their home in the West Bank village of Sebastia, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Houses and a mosque are visible in a section of the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Rudeina Amouri, 42, holds a broken smartphone that belonged to her 13-year-old daughter, Rimas Amouri, who was killed during an Israeli raid while standing in the courtyard of their home, in the West Bank city of Jenin on April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Nasser al-Heimouni, 38, walks down an alley near the spot where his 12-year-old son, Ayman al-Heimouni, was shot by Israeli fire in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A photo of 12-year-old Ayman al-Heimouni, who was killed by Israeli gunfire, is displayed among Ramadan decorations in a room of his family's home in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Blood-stained underwear and trousers, which Anwar al-Heimouni says were worn by her 12-year-old son, Ayman al-Heimouni, when he was killed by Israeli fire, are laid out for a picture in a room of their home in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Anwar al-Heimouni, 29, smells the gloves of her 12-year-old son, Ayman al-Heimouni, who was killed by Israeli fire, in their home in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A youth holds an empty bullet cartridge and a piece of shrapnel near the spot where 12-year-old Ayman al-Heimouni was shot by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Ashraf Gharbieh, 45, holds a phone showing a photo of his 14-year-old son, Mahmoud Gharbieh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jenin refugee camp, as he sits for a portrait at a friend's house on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Jenin, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The bicycle of Saddam Rajab, a 10-year-old who was killed by an Israeli soldier, sits outside his mother's house in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People walk past the spot where 10-year-old Saddam Rajab was shot by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Iyad Rajab holds a phone with a photo of his 10-year-old son, Saddam Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire, as he sits on the boy’s bed, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Bullet holes are visible on March 11, 2025, in the window of the house where 2-year-old Layla Al-Khatib was killed by Israeli gunfire in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada near Jenin. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Tayma Asous, 26, shows a photo of her 2-year-old daughter, Layla Al-Khatib, who was killed on Jan. 25, 2025, after being shot in the head by Israeli fire, at their home in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada near the West Bank city of Jenin, March 11. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A blood-stained shirt that Tayma Asous says was worn by her 2-year-old daughter, Layla Al-Khatib, when she was shot in the head by Israeli gunfire, is laid out at their home in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada, near the West Bank city of Jenin, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Tayma Asous, 26, holds the favorite toy of her 2-year-old daughter, Layla Al-Khatib, who was killed after being shot in the head by Israeli gunfire, at their home in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada, near the West Bank city of Jenin, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Some died during Israeli military raids; others were shot while walking in their neighborhoods, playing outside or staying inside their homes. More than 300 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since January.
Among the children killed were Layla, 2, shot in Jenin while perched on her mother's lap; Saddam, 10, killed while holding his father’s phone in Tulkarem; Amer, 14, a U.S. citizen from New Jersey whose father said he was shot while picking almonds; Ayman, 12, killed outside his grandfather’s home in Hebron; Rimas, 13, shot in the Jenin refugee camp while playing outside; Ahmad, 14, killed in Sebastia under unclear circumstances; and Mahmoud, 14, one of five people killed in a Jenin missile strike that spared only his father.
Parents cling to the belongings their children left behind — savings books, toys and photographs. They inhale the scent of clothes once worn. Young boys and girls proudly show pendants emblazoned with their dead sibling's face.
Abandoned bikes, silent courtyards and empty bedrooms remain, reminders of absence.
Israeli authorities told The Associated Press that their operations target militants and that soldiers are prohibited from firing at civilians, especially minors.
But the circumstances of the children's deaths call those claims into question. The military says investigations into some of the cases are ongoing, but families report receiving no information about what happened to their children and demand accountability.
Each case is documented with names, ages, locations and circumstances, underscoring both the personal loss and the scale of child casualties in the conflict.
This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.
Mohammed Rabee, 48, sits with his grandchildren beside photos of his 14-year-old son, Amer Rabee, who was killed by Israeli soldiers while in a roadside thicket in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A tree stands along Highway 60 on April 22, 2025, near the spot where 14-year-old Amer Rabee was killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Wafa Jazar, 42, sits for a portrait, holding the clothes that her 14-year-old son, Ahmad Jazar, was wearing when he was shot by Israeli soldiers, at their home in the West Bank village of Sebastia, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Blood-stained clothes, which Wafa Jazar, 42, says were worn by her 14-year-old son, Ahmad Jazar, when he was shot by Israeli soldiers, are laid out for a photo in a room of their home in the West Bank village of Sebastia, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Houses and a mosque are visible in a section of the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Rudeina Amouri, 42, holds a broken smartphone that belonged to her 13-year-old daughter, Rimas Amouri, who was killed during an Israeli raid while standing in the courtyard of their home, in the West Bank city of Jenin on April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Nasser al-Heimouni, 38, walks down an alley near the spot where his 12-year-old son, Ayman al-Heimouni, was shot by Israeli fire in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A photo of 12-year-old Ayman al-Heimouni, who was killed by Israeli gunfire, is displayed among Ramadan decorations in a room of his family's home in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Blood-stained underwear and trousers, which Anwar al-Heimouni says were worn by her 12-year-old son, Ayman al-Heimouni, when he was killed by Israeli fire, are laid out for a picture in a room of their home in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Anwar al-Heimouni, 29, smells the gloves of her 12-year-old son, Ayman al-Heimouni, who was killed by Israeli fire, in their home in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A youth holds an empty bullet cartridge and a piece of shrapnel near the spot where 12-year-old Ayman al-Heimouni was shot by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank city of Hebron, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Ashraf Gharbieh, 45, holds a phone showing a photo of his 14-year-old son, Mahmoud Gharbieh, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Jenin refugee camp, as he sits for a portrait at a friend's house on the outskirts of the West Bank city of Jenin, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The bicycle of Saddam Rajab, a 10-year-old who was killed by an Israeli soldier, sits outside his mother's house in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
People walk past the spot where 10-year-old Saddam Rajab was shot by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Iyad Rajab holds a phone with a photo of his 10-year-old son, Saddam Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire, as he sits on the boy’s bed, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Bullet holes are visible on March 11, 2025, in the window of the house where 2-year-old Layla Al-Khatib was killed by Israeli gunfire in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada near Jenin. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Tayma Asous, 26, shows a photo of her 2-year-old daughter, Layla Al-Khatib, who was killed on Jan. 25, 2025, after being shot in the head by Israeli fire, at their home in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada near the West Bank city of Jenin, March 11. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A blood-stained shirt that Tayma Asous says was worn by her 2-year-old daughter, Layla Al-Khatib, when she was shot in the head by Israeli gunfire, is laid out at their home in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada, near the West Bank city of Jenin, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Tayma Asous, 26, holds the favorite toy of her 2-year-old daughter, Layla Al-Khatib, who was killed after being shot in the head by Israeli gunfire, at their home in the village of Muthallath ash-Shuhada, near the West Bank city of Jenin, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
