🎈 Up Big Today: Find today's biggest gainers (some over 50%!) with our free screenerTry Stock Screener

Israeli army raids West Bank's Jenin, Palestinians say seven killed

Published 05/21/2024, 02:35 AM
Updated 05/21/2024, 04:24 PM

By Ali Sawafta

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) -Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, killing seven Palestinians, including a doctor and a teenager, during a major operation that involved dozens of vehicles and continued into the night, witnesses and Palestinian health authorities said.

The Israeli military said the operation targeted armed militants in the city, a longstanding centre for militant groups including Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad, and it said a number of Palestinian gunmen were shot.

"Undercover forces raided the area suddenly and they were firing at any moving body in the street," said ambulance driver Hazim Masarwa. "They were targeting anything moving."

Heavy-tracked armoured bulldozers tore up streets near the centre of the city, protected by Israeli forces in at least 20 vehicles.

As night fell, the occasional sound of firing and explosions could still be heard and military vehicles were still moving in the darkened refugee camp adjacent to the city, but the intensity of the fighting had gone down, witnesses said.

Authorities said a teacher and a doctor, both of whom were on their way to work in the city, as well as a 15 year-old and a 16 year-old were among seven people killed. There was no immediate information on the identity of the other dead or the nine wounded, as the operation continued throughout the morning.

"Jenin hospital is the main governmental hospital in Jenin and it is surrounded now," said hospital director Wissam Baker. "It looks it will be tough hours ahead because the occupation is gathering more forces."

He said the hospital's specialist surgeon was among the dead after being shot while on his way to work.

The occupied West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state along with Gaza, has seen a surge in violence since the start of the war in Gaza last year, and a major crackdown by Israeli security forces which have made thousands of arrests.

© Reuters. Fires burn at a roundabout during Israeli military operation in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 21, 2024. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

In the seven months since the start of the war, hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, many of them armed militants fighting Israeli forces but others including stone-throwing youths or uninvolved civilians. Several have also been killed in clashes with Israeli settlers.

At the same time, Palestinians have killed more than a dozen Israelis.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.