The first bullet reportedly hit the 16-year-old in the leg. He collapsed, and as he tried to stand up, he was shot for a second time in the head, according to the schoolboy's family.
"It was an execution," said Ziad Abu Ayash, Nihal's father. "There was no need to kill him. He didn't have a gun, he didn't have a tank.
There is no excuse. It is a crime." Surrounded by mourners at the family home in Beit Ummar, the 62-year-old added: "I cannot heal.
The shock and the devastation will not leave me."
Nihal was the 100th Palestinian child killed in the occupied West Bank since Hamas's 7 October attack on Israel, according to the rights group Defence for Children International Palestine (DCIP). Nihal was a bright student who dreamed of becoming a professional football player. The talented goalkeeper was already playing for Beit Ummar club.
His parents have struggled to come to terms with the loss of their firstborn son. His mother, Hanan, 47, is unable to speak or eat and his father refuses to leave their home, where he spends hours clutching his son's football boots. Mahmoud, 13, the youngest of Nihal's four siblings, has developed a stammer since witnessing his brother's killing last week.
This story is from the February 23, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 23, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Union anger after Boeing makes 'divisive' final offer to end strike
A union representing 33,000 striking Boeing workers has reacted with anger at what the aircraft maker called its \"best and final\" pay offer of a 30% rise over four years.
Brexit checks put plant and flower trade with EU at risk, say UK firms
Exporters of plants and flowers from mainland Europe are turning their backs on supplying Britain as \"painful\" new Brexit border checks are pushing some trading relationships to \"breaking point\", garden centres and nurseries have warned.
Tui expects leap in profits as winter trip bookings rise
Europe's largest travel company expects its annual profits to rise by at least a quarter, helped by people spending more on winter breaks to sunny destinations such as Egypt, Cape Verde, Thailand and Mexico.
Interest rates unlikely to go to near-zero again, Bank governor says
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, has said he expects interest rates to fall gradually but warned consumers not to expect a return to near-zero levels.
Firms question pre-budget timing of investment event
Business leaders have warned that the government's plans for a major global investment summit are in danger of falling flat, amid growing frustrations over the high costs of involvement and its timing two weeks before the budget.
Assassination attempt on politician 'after firm provided his mobile data'
Gunmen tried to assassinate a Tanzanian opposition politician after a telecoms company secretly passed his mobile phone data to the government, according to evidence heard in a London tribunal.
Rightwing strategy chief in US 'boasted of killing dog'
The man behind Project 2025, the rightwing manifesto that includes calls for a sharp increase in immigrant deportations if Donald Trump is elected president in November, told university colleagues about two decades ago that he had killed a neighbourhood dog with a shovel because it was barking and disturbing his family, according to former colleagues who spoke to the Guardian.
US swing states have gained the most from climate bill
The seven swing states that will decide the US election have received nearly half the clean energy manufacturing dollars unleashed by a landmark 2022 climate bill, analysis shows, amid stuttering Democratic efforts to translate new factory jobs into political support.
Rights groups' shock as von der Leyen 'downgrades' commission equality role
More than 50 rights organisations have expressed \"shock and dismay\" at Ursula von der Leyen's decision to do away with the standalone EU position of equality commissioner, describing it as \"downgrading\" the fight against discrimination.
Moira Stuart targeted by bank scam and saved by vigilant cashier
The veteran broadcaster Moira Stuart has revealed that she nearly fell victim to a sophisticated bank scam.
