Twelve Palestinians, including teenagers, killed in Israeli airstrike, raid in West Bank

Destruction in Jenin, West Bank, 6 August 2024

Jack Khoury and Reuters report in Haaretz on 6 August 2024:

Twelve Palestinians were killed, including four teenagers, and another seven wounded by Israeli fire during military raids in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said Tuesday.

Five were killed in two Israeli army airstrikes in the West Bank city of Jenin, where the IDF said it struck two squads of armed terrorists. The Palestinian Health Ministry said four people, including an 18-year-old, were killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the city.

The military says forces have been operating since early Tuesday morning in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, stripping the asphalt on the refugee camp’s eastern neighborhood roads to locate improvised explosive devices. Locals reported hearing gunfire.

Locals say 18-year-old Ahmed Hussam al-Saadi was unarmed, and a family member told Haaretz he was on his way to join rescue teams in the refugee camp’s eastern neighborhood before he was hit.

The IDF said that soldiers tried to arrest a wanted individual, and were met with gunfire from Palestinians, adding that explosive devices were thrown at the soldiers.

Two more Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces surrounded a house in Kafr Qud west of Jenin. The Coordination for Government Activities in the Territories said that the dead are Walid Hasin and Hader Abu Katana, 33 years old, who are identified with Fatah. Three more Palestinians were seriously injured and two others were arrested by the army.

Earlier on Tuesday, four Palestinians were killed during an Israeli army raid in the village of Al-Akaba in the northern West Bank.  According to Palestinian sources, they were identified as Aysar Abu Ara, 36; Nur Yassin, 19; Ameed Ghanam, 19; and Belal Suafta, 14. Residents of the village testified that the forces surrounded two houses in the village, and during the operation, an explosive device was used against the forces, and seven people were also injured, two of them seriously.

Last Saturday, the IDF operated in the Tul Karm area of the West Bank, and used drones to strike militants. According to Palestinian reports, nine people were killed in the attacks.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war. Most were killed during military arrest raids and violent protests.

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