A 13-year-old Palestinian boy died after stepping on a mine near an Israeli military base in the occupied West Bank, with tensions high in the area.

RAMALLAH: A 13-year-old Palestinian boy was killed after stepping on a mine near an Israeli military camp in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews received the body of the child following an explosion in the Jiftlik area of the northern Jordan Valley.

A source from COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry’s agency for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, confirmed the death to AFP. The source identified the boy as Mohammed Abu Dalah from the village of Jiftlik.

Israel’s military initially stated that three Palestinians were injured “as a result of playing with unexploded ordnance”. It did not specify their ages in that statement.

The military said the incident occurred in the Tirzah area, which it described as a military camp. “This area is a live-fire zone and entry into it is prohibited,” the military added.

Jiftlik village council head Ahmad Ghawanmeh told AFP that three children, the oldest aged 16, were collecting herbs near the base when they detonated a mine. The area, including Jiftlik and the Tirzah base, is located in Area C of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli military and civil control.

Much of the Jordan Valley area near the border with Jordan remains mined. Israel’s defence ministry said in January it had begun demining the border area as part of construction for a new barrier aimed at preventing weapons smuggling.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.

 The Sun Malaysia