Nearly two dozen Americans have died “as a result of ongoing violence” linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, the US State Department said Monday.
“We can confirm the deaths of 23 American citizens,” State Department representative Vedant Patel said at a regular news conference.
Of the U.S. citizens killed since Oct. 7, 21 had been serving in the Israel Defense Forces and one in the Israel National Police, Patel noted.
The recent death of 17-year-old Palestinian-American Tawfiq Ajjaq is the latest addition to the growing death toll, the representative added.
“We are devastated by the murder of 17-year-old American citizen Tawfic Abdel Jabbar in the West Bank,” Patel said, noting that the United States was working with Israel to obtain information about his death.
“We have called for an urgent investigation to determine the circumstances of his death and his responsibility… as appropriate.”
The teenager, who was born and raised in Gretna, Louisiana, but moved to the Palestinian territory last year with his parents and four siblings, was shot dead by Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank on Friday, according to Palestinian health officials. .
US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Monday that the American death toll from the war between Israel and Hamas has risen to 23 since October 7.
Ajjaq’s relative, Joe Abdel Qaki, said the American-born young man was shot in the head and chest while barbecuing with a friend in a village field.
Israeli police later said they had received a report of a “gunshot, apparently involving an off-duty police officer, a soldier and a civilian,” although the exact circumstances of the shooting remain unclear.
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Police have not revealed who fired the fatal shots, but said the shooting targeted people who “had allegedly engaged in stone-throwing activities” along a main West Bank road.
The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry says 369 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, when the Palestinian terror group’s cross-border surprise attack triggered the devastating war.
Mourners cry next to the body of Palestinian-American Tawfiq Ajjaq, 17, who Palestinian officials say was killed by Israeli security forces on Friday. REUTERS
Most of the dead Palestinians were killed during shootings in the West Bank that the Israeli military said began during operations to arrest Palestinian gunmen.
While the United States has provided military and diplomatic support to Israel in its war against Hamas, it has repeatedly urged the Jewish country to reduce the intensity of its attacks.
Nearly 25,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in Israel’s offensive, Gaza health officials said.
With post cables
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Source: vtt.edu.vn