Israeli army says it killed seven Palestinians in occupied West Bank

The Israeli military announced that killed seven Palestinians in two separate episodes, of which “five terrorists” in Jenin, stronghold of armed Palestinian organizations in the occupied West Bank, and two in Hebron, in the southern part of the area. In Jenin, the death toll of five was contested at midday.

Hamas confirmed the death of three of its fighters “in the battle of al-Aqsa Flood in Jenin”. The Palestinian Ministry of Health, for its part, announced “three dead and 15 wounded, of which four are in critical condition.” AFP reporters saw a funeral procession for three bodies wrapped in the flags of Palestinian armed movements.

“Al-Aqsa Flood” is the name given to the Islamist movement Hamas in his bloody October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Overnight, an AFP reporter saw Israeli military vehicles enter the streets of the Jenin refugee camp, where 23,000 people are crammed in, according to the UN that runs it.

Israeli drones were flying over the area, while Palestinians threw stones and hurled at least one explosive device in the direction of Israeli vehicles. Soldiers responded by using tear gas as gunfire echoed through the camp and plumes of black smoke rose.

Israeli soldiers withdrew from Jenin in the morning. The army said it had carried out an “anti-terrorist” operation in the camp where it found “improvised explosive devices placed under and next to roads with the aim of launching attacks against Israeli security forces”. He also announced that he had “struck an armed terrorist cell”, speaking of “the seizure of six weapons” and the “arrest” of about fifteen “suspects”.

The Palestinian Red Crescent has posted images online showing people including Red Crescent nurses walking out of Jenin’s Ibn Sina Hospital under the orders of Israeli soldiers during their nighttime raid.

Besides, the Palestinian Ministry of Health spoke of “two deaths of Palestinians who were hit by bullets of the Palestinian army at the northern entrance of Hebron”. The Israeli army confirmed the account, saying that the two men “shot at the soldiers who were operating in the zone and (they) returned fire”, as reported by APE-MPE.

He said the soldiers were in Hebron to “take measures” at the homes of three attackers who the day before had killed an Israeli soldier and wounded five others at a roadblock near Jerusalem. This stage precedes the destruction of the homes of the perpetrators of an attack, a measure that Israel regularly implements.

Since October 7, the Israeli army has continuously bombarded the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, and has also increased its raids in the West Bank, mainly in Jenin and the refugee camp there. In the Gaza Strip, 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry. On the West BankPalestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, about 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.