Israeli army killing of Palestinian family sends shockwaves throughout the West Bank
Mustafa Bani Odeh (L) and his older brother Khaled (C) at the funeral of their parents and two other siblings who were killed by Israeli special forces, March 2026
Qassam Muaddi reports in Mondoweiss on 17 March 2026:
Khaled and Mustafa Bani Odeh, 11 and 8 years old, had a family until late Sunday. They were on their way back home to the Palestinian town of Tammoun in the northern West Bank when undercover Israeli forces opened fire on the family’s car, which carried two parents and four children. They had gone to Nablus on a shopping trip for the upcoming Eid holiday.
The parents, Ali and Waad, as well as the younger two children, Othman and Muhammad (aged 6 and 5), were killed. Khaled and Mustafa, who tried to shield Muhammad, were injured with shrapnel to the face and head.
The bodies of the four slain members of the Bani Odeh family, including two children, were laid to rest in their hometown of Tammoun in the northern West Bank, days after being gunned down in their car by Israeli soldiers, March 15, 2026. (Photo: Mohammed Nasser/APA Images)
Later that day, Palestinians in Tammoun took part in the family’s funeral. Mustafa, the younger of the surviving pair, recounted the details of what happened to local media.
“We arrived near the Tubasi restaurant when soldiers began to open fire at us,” the boy said, with clear injuries on his face. He said that after the army finished firing on the family in the car, the soldiers “took us out of the car and beat us. Then we were taken to the ambulance.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that Israeli forces had blocked its crews from reaching the site, and later handed over the bodies of the four victims.
The mayor of Tammoun, Samir Bisharat, tells Mondoweiss that Ali, the father, was a construction worker in Israel and had a regular life with his family. “They never had any problems with the occupation or with anyone else,” he says. “Ali was known and respected in the community, and his wife, Waad, was very gentle.”