Overnight funerals were held Saturday for four Palestinians killed during a shootout in the occupied West Bank. The violence stems from a Friday confrontation in the village of Tell near Nablus, where armed Israeli settlers clashed with local residents. It marks the deadliest single incident in the territory this year as regional hostilities escalate alongside the wider Middle Eastern crisis that began in October 2023.
The deaths occurred after dozens of Israeli settlers entered the Area A village, claiming they were hiking. A physical struggle broke out over a weapon carried by Benayahu Mellet, a security guard from the nearby Havat Gilad settlement. Gunfire quickly erupted, according to a report detailing the initial shootout in Tell and the death of Major Yuval Ezra. An Israeli platoon commander intervened during the weapon struggle and opened fire.
Six people died in the exchange. The fatalities include four Palestinian cousins from the Ramadan family, Mellet, and Major Ezra.
Hundreds of Israeli settlers launched reprisal attacks across five neighboring villages following the shootout. They set fire to civilian buildings and vehicles, leaving at least eight more Palestinians injured. In response, the Israeli military established a cordon around Tell and Nablus. The IDF and Shin Bet subsequently executed a hospital raid, locking down Nablus and capturing two wounded Palestinian suspects.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced retaliatory measures. They ordered the military to demolish the attackers’ homes, reinforce regional checkpoints, and expedite the authorization of new Israeli outposts. The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned the killings as a massacre, while President Mahmoud Abbas’s office denounced the ensuing settler riots as terrorism.
The United Nations reports that 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the territory since late 2023. Data from the Palestinian health ministry indicates Friday’s incident brings the 2026 death toll for Palestinians killed by Israeli violence in the West Bank to 87. Approximately 850 Palestinians have been injured in settler attacks this year.