The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health announced today Monday that two Palestinians, a 66-year-old man and a 12-year-old boy, succumbed to their injuries following Israeli army operations in the occupied West Bank.

“Ziyad Abu Khalil, 66, was martyred after being attacked by the occupation forces during the invasion of his home in Dura, south of Hebron,” the statement said.

His son, Murad Abu Khalil, said Israeli soldiers who entered the family home to arrest his brother beat his father. “At 3 in the morning the occupying forces entered the house to arrest my brother. My father tried to stop them and they hit him twice in the chest, then they pushed him and his body hit the door of the house.”

The 66-year-old succumbed to his injuries in the morning. The soldiers left without arresting his son.

The Israeli army, which was asked about the issue by AFP, did not want to give any follow-up.

Ziad Abu Khalil was well-known among Palestinians, especially the younger ones, after he released a video on social networking sites in which an Israeli soldier pleads with him to urge some youths to stop throwing stones at the Israeli army. Khalil can be heard saying: “let them knock, it’s good.”

In a separate statement, the ministry said a 12-year-old boy, Hatem Ghaith, succumbed to serious injuries he sustained “by fire from the occupying forces inside the Qalandiya camp.” Local residents said the army stormed the camp at around 5am and clashes ensued between soldiers and youths.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, at least 703 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, by soldiers or Israeli settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health. According to Israel, at least 24 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed by Palestinian attacks or during military operations.