Family accuses soldiers of violently shoving elderly woman to the ground; Israeli military denies entering the home and attributes death to natural causes amid conflicting accounts.
A 68-year-old Palestinian woman has died after an Israeli military raid on her family home in the town of Jayyous, east of Qalqilya, in the northern occupied West Bank, local sources and family members say.
Sabriya Amin Shamasneh, a grandmother, suffered severe shock and injuries during the predawn operation on Tuesday, according to her relatives. They claim Israeli soldiers pushed her to the ground when she confronted them at the door, causing her to hit her head and lose consciousness.
Family members told local media that soldiers stormed the house courtyard in the early hours, attempting to force entry while shouting. Shamasneh, who was asleep, woke up to the commotion and went to the door. When she protested, soldiers allegedly shoved her violently with their rifles, knocking her down. Her husband reportedly pleaded for help as she lay unconscious, but soldiers refused to assist and prevented an ambulance from reaching the scene promptly due to the heavy military presence.
She was later taken to a hospital in Qalqilya, where she was pronounced dead. Palestinian medical sources and rights groups described the incident as resulting from physical assault during the raid.
Conflicting narratives from Israeli side:
The Israeli military has denied the family’s version of events. According to reports citing the army, soldiers did not enter the home itself and the woman’s death was due to a heart attack triggered by fear and shock from the operation outside. The military said it is investigating the incident but maintains that forces were conducting a standard arrest or search operation in the area.
Palestinian witnesses and media outlets, including WAFA and Middle East Eye, have highlighted the aggressive nature of the raid, with some accounts describing soldiers using force against the elderly woman when she tried to stop them from entering.
The death has sparked outrage among Palestinians, who view it as another example of excessive force used by Israeli troops during routine operations in the occupied territory. Jayyous and surrounding villages in the Qalqilya area have frequently been targets of such raids, often justified by Israel as necessary to detain wanted individuals or suppress alleged militant activity.
Recurring Civilian Casualties in West Bank Raids:
This latest incident comes amid a broader escalation of Israeli military operations across the occupied West Bank, where raids have become near-daily occurrences. Palestinian health officials and human rights organisations have documented numerous cases of civilian deaths, injuries, and property damage during these operations.
Elderly residents and children are often among the most vulnerable, with families reporting trauma from sudden night-time incursions involving heavy gunfire, stun grenades, and forced entries.
Local activists and relatives of Shamasneh described her as a peaceful grandmother who posed no threat. “She was just protecting her home,” one family member said. “They treated her like an enemy.”
The Palestinian Authority has condemned the incident as part of what it calls a systematic campaign of violence against civilians under Israeli occupation. Calls for an independent investigation have grown, though past similar cases have rarely led to accountability for Israeli forces.
As mourning continues in Jayyous, with funeral processions drawing crowds, the event underscores the fragile and tense reality for Palestinian communities living under constant threat of military incursions.