Israeli forces killed nine militants while the Palestinian health ministry reported 11 deaths
Israeli soldiers operate during a raid in the Nur Shams camp for Palestinian refugees near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP
JENIN, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Israel launched a large-scale operation Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, where the military said it killed Palestinian fighters, as the nearly 11-month-old Gaza war showed no signs of abating.
The military said its forces killed nine militants while the Palestinian health ministry reported 11 deaths in the West Bank, where violence has surged during the war sparked by Gaza rulers Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel.
Children were among those killed, according to the United Nations, while Hamas said the fatalities included three members of its armed wing in the Jenin refugee camp.
The war in Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s health ministry, while Israel’s offensive has caused widespread destruction and displacement.
Early Wednesday, Israel launched coordinated raids across four northern West Bank cities — Jenin, Nablus, Tubas and Tulkarem — where the military has focused much of its recent operations.
Armored columns entered two refugee camps, in Tulkarem and Tubas, as well as Jenin, where an Agence France-Presse correspondent said gunfire and explosions were heard into the evening.
The Red Crescent said the Palestinian health authority claimed Israeli forces killed 11 people and wounded 24 in the raids. Its West Bank chief Younes al-Khatib said ambulances came under Israeli fire and “one of our staffers was hit.”
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the Israeli operations took place “in close proximity to four hospitals” and at least some “have been surrounded,” affecting the movement of medical teams.
Guterres “calls for an immediate cessation of these operations,” a later statement from his office said.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia and headed home to “follow up on the latest developments,” Palestinian official media said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II told visiting United States lawmakers a Gaza truce was needed “to stop the cycle of violence in the region,” according to a royal statement.
Violence also raged in the Gaza Strip, where the civil defense agency reported Israeli strikes killed at least 12 people, and in Lebanon, where Israel’s military said it killed a “significant” Palestinian militant.
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