Rayan Suleiman, a seven-year-old Palestinian boy has died of heart failure when Israeli soldiers showed up at his home after chasing him in the occupied West Bank on September 29.

In a video circulated on social media, his father, Yasser, said the boy was on his way home from school with other pupils when troops gave chase.

Israel called the death a tragedy and disputed the claims against its army. Meanwhile, the US voiced sorrow at the incident and encouraged an investigation.

His cousin Mohammed Suleiman noted that,”Rayan was shrieking in fear at the sight of Israeli soldiers”. He said after the soldiers left, the boy collapsed. Rayan was vomiting blood in the car after collapsing and was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to his relatives said the boy had no previous health problems.

It bore no sign of physical trauma and that the death appeared consistent with heart failure, a medical official inspected the body added. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the incident as “an ugly crime” by Israel.

Children are frequently detained by the Israeli army during incursions into towns and occupied territory.

According to institutions and human rights organizations who work with Palestinian inmates, there were 175 juveniles being held in Israeli jails as of July 2022.

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