Israeli soldiers gather near the scene where a Palestinian fatally stabbed a 13-year-old girl inside her home, at the entrance to Kiryat Arba settlement, near the West Bank city of Hebron June 30, 2016. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 13-year-old Israeli girl fatally stabbed in her bedroom in the occupied West Bank on Thursday was a U.S. citizen, the State Department said.

The girl, Hallel Yaffa Ariel, was attacked after an assailant climbed a security fence and entered a home in the settlement of Kiryat Arba.

“We have now confirmed that she is a U.S. citizen,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said at a news briefing.