The United States says it expects Israel to show “accountability” over the killing of a 15-year-old Palestinian girl, Jana Majdi Zakarneh, by an Israeli sniper who shot her four times while she tried to retrieve her cat in war-torn Jenin.  

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Ned Price, on Monday, said that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) is undertaking an investigation into the matter.

 “We do express our profound condolences to the family of Jana Zakarna, the young teenage girl who was killed.

“We understand the IDF is undertaking an investigation into what happened. We hope to see accountability in this case,” he said at a news conference.

Ms Zakarneh’s killing is the latest in the series of war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers as the State of Israel continues its occupation of the Middle Eastern country. 

“She wasn’t carrying a weapon or throwing stones; she had nothing and was shot with four bullets in deadly spots: in the head, the face and twice in the chest,” Ms Zakarneh’s uncle told the AFP. 

The Israeli occupation forces have killed no less than 32 Palestinian children in what many have remarked as the deadliest year on record for Palestinians since 2005.