Israeli raids kill five in occupied West Bank
Israeli forces kill four people in Jenin and one man near Hebron, labelling their raids a ‘counterterrorism operation’.
Israeli forces have killed five Palestinians in the West Bank, according to health officials, as violence escalates in the occupied territory amid Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Israeli army said on Monday that its forces encountered explosive devices in a raid on the northern city of Jenin and labelled another incursion, near Hebron, a “counterterrorism operation”.
The Palestinian health ministry said four people aged 23 to 28 were killed during the early morning raid on the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the target of frequent military incursions.
Another nine people were wounded, a ministry statement said.
According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, “more than 100 military vehicles and two bulldozers” took part in the raid.
Military drones hovered over the area and army snipers were positioned on buildings around Jenin’s main hospital.
Part of the hospital’s perimeter wall was demolished by armoured military bulldozers.
The Israeli military said its troops uncovered “explosive devices that were planted under the roads in order to attack [its] forces”.
The Palestinian health ministry also said a 23-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli forces in Yatta city near Hebron.
The Israeli military said its forces had “conducted counterterrorism in the area to apprehend wanted suspects”.
The ministry also confirmed on Monday that another 23-year-old man died after being shot by a settler days ago in Ras Karkar, northwest of Ramallah.
Previous killings
The deaths came a day after five Palestinians were killed by army fire during military incursions into the occupied West Bank.
The health ministry says about 120 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territory since Hamas fighters stormed across the Gaza border for the attack on October 7.
Hamas fighters killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has hit back with a relentless bombardment that has killed more than 8,300 people, more than half of them children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. In recent days, Israeli ground forces have entered Gaza.
The West Bank was already a hotbed of tension before the Gaza war, with frequent Israeli army raids, a surge in attacks by Jewish settlers and Palestinian attacks on settlements.
Israel occupied the West Bank during the 1967 Palestinian-Israeli war and its forces regularly carry out raids on Palestinian fighters there.