A 12-year-old Palestinian boy, Iyas Abu Mufreh, was shot by Israeli snipers during a family celebration in occupied East Jerusalem on June 16, 2025. The boy was hit by a “dumdum” bullet, which caused severe damage to his shoulder and narrowly missed his heart.
According to his family, Iyas was sitting near a car with his cousin, Uday Abu Juma’, 21, eating pizza when Israeli snipers opened fire without warning. Two bullets struck the boys, leaving them with life-altering injuries.
The incident occurred during a family gathering to celebrate their grandmother’s return from the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and a daughter’s high score on the Palestinian national “tawjihi” exams.
Iyas’s family is terrified that the boy’s arm and hand will be permanently impaired, while Uday may not walk again. “What gives you the right to shoot a 12-year-old kid, sitting with his cousin, eating pizza? And to make it so that his cousin is not able to walk again in his life?” asked a distraught Amir Abu Mufreh, 21, outside Iyas’s patient room.
Israeli police claimed that the boys were throwing Molotov cocktails and launching fireworks during the gathering, justifying the use of force in self-defense.
However, the family denies these allegations, and security camera footage shows that the snipers opened fire without warning. The police also attempted to claim that the shooting was the result of an “internal family dispute,” which the family disputes.
The shooting is part of a larger pattern of Israeli authorities cracking down on Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem during the 12-day conflict with Iran in June. Israeli police put up roadblocks, conducted nightly raids, and arrested residents over social media posts.
The Israeli NGOs Ir Amim and Bimkom stated that these policies amount to “unjustified collective punishment” and treat the Palestinian public as a “collective threat.”
Iyas remains in Hadassah Hospital, having undergone a series of surgeries, and is struggling to eat, drink, or sleep due to the trauma. “I just want to go back home, to be able to play with my friends and to go back to school,” said Iyas from his hospital bed. Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher for Ir Amim, noted that “How Israel deals with [Palestinians] is through all these measures and violence,” and “Israel sees that no one is holding it accountable”.