A group of people congregated around a downed projectile, which had been moved to the center of a square in the village of Dura in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, following a missile barrage launched by Iran targeting Israel.
Sameh al-Asali was among hundreds of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip taking refuge in Jericho, also in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, far from the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Tragically, a fragment of an Iranian missile struck him, marking him as the sole casualty known from the Iranian attack, and underscoring the growing regional tensions involving Israel, Iran, and its allied groups.
Al-Asali’s death underscores the exposure of Palestinians in the West Bank to Iran’s missile strikes. Unlike Israelis, residents of the West Bank lack air-raid sirens to alert them to incoming threats.
The 37-year-old was at a Palestinian Authority training facility repurposed as a shelter for displaced Palestinian workers when a large fragment of a missile hit him, according to security footage reviewed by The New York Times. The video suggested that the fragment may have broken off from the missile or fallen after being intercepted by Israeli defense systems.
His father, Khader al-Asali, expressed his shock upon discovering his son’s body, remarking that his son had simply been “unlucky.”
Approximately 600 Palestinians from Gaza, previously employed in Israel before the Hamas-led actions on October 7, had sought refuge at the site, as reported by Jericho’s governor, Hussein Hamayel.
Mr. al-Asali, 64, explained that he and his son had worked as construction workers in northern Israel prior to the conflicts that erupted in October. He mentioned that his wife, six daughters, and another son remained in Jabaliya in northern Gaza.
The Israeli military reported that Iran launched around 180 missiles toward Israel on Tuesday evening. Many of these were intercepted by Israel’s defense systems, but some missiles and debris landed within both Israel and the West Bank.
In the West Bank village of Azzun, a missile or a significant portion of one fell between residential homes, though residents and Palestinian police confirmed there was no explosion.
Fares al-Hawari, a local resident of Azzun, stated he heard no blast but rather a heavy object descending from the sky, describing it as having released gas when he inspected it.
A photograph from the scene showed a substantial object lying in a grassy yard. Yehoshua Kalisky, an expert in military technology at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, noted that the image seemed to depict the fuel tank of a missile with the explosive warhead already detached.
Col. Louay Arzeikat, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority police, revealed that it took several hours for Israel to permit a bomb squad to reach Azzun to assess the object. He cautioned that such delays could result in civilian fatalities.
The Israeli government body responsible for coordination with the Palestinian Authority, COGAT, did not provide comments on the situation.
For years, Palestinian officials have raised concerns regarding Israel’s slow assistance in authorizing the movement of security personnel within various regions of the West Bank.
In light of the Iranian missile attack, Mr. al-Asali expressed that such actions do not align with Palestinian interests. “May God hold them accountable. We don’t want missiles. We don’t want war,” he stated, emphasizing a desire for peace and hoping for an end to the ongoing conflict.