This is the moment a 14-year-old Palestinian boy is hit in the face by a rubber bullet allegedly fired by an Israeli soldier and ends up losing his right eye.

The incident took place in the neighbourhood of Bir al-Hummus in Hebron, the largest city in the West Bank and the second largest in the Palestinian territories after Gaza, on 9th April.

The victim, named as Izz al-Din Nidal al-Batsh, was watching a local protest from the safety of a vegetable shop when he was reportedly struck in the eye by a rubber-tipped steel bullet.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) could not confirm or deny that the bullet was fired by a soldier, but admitted the military was firing rubber bullets into a crowd of nearby Palestinian protesters.

The spokesperson said: “There was a violent protest, including stone-throwing and stone-slinging, and the military responded with riot dispersal mechanisms including rubber bullets.”

The boy’s family said he was further up the street from the demonstration when he was hit in the eye.

In the CCTV footage, the crouching boy is seen alongside another teen as they take cover in the greengrocer’s.

Just after straightening his back, the boy grabs his head and runs off after apparently being hit by the rubber bullet.

The IDF spokesperson said that an internal investigation was carried out by the division’s commander, concluding that soldiers did not shoot directly at the greengrocer’s.

However, the victim’s cousin Abd al-Karim claimed that a soldier “pointed their gun at us and fired. It was clear he aimed at us”.

After the 14-year-old boy was shot, he was taken to the Princess Alia Governmental Hospital before being transferred to the St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital later that evening.

Sadly, doctors confirmed that the boy’s affected eye could not be saved.

With a metal core surrounded by a rubber coating, rubber bullets are regularly used by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank to control riots.

The projectiles are not as dangerous as live rounds, but can still cause serious injuries.

The victim returned home on Sunday and his family members are calling for a full investigation rather than an internal military probe.