At least ten Palestinians died, including an elderly woman, and sixteen were injured - three seriously - during a new military raid by the Israeli army in Jenin on Thursday morning. According to the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a special forces command entered the refugee camp in the Palestinian city early in the morning to arrest members of an armed cell. Upon reaching the house where they were hiding, a group of militiamen fired intensely at the troops, who responded by opening fire, including fire from snipers deployed on the spot. Today's incident is the deadliest armed clashes in the West Bank in years.
Although no injuries were reported among the Israeli troops, the operation to leave Jenin was more complicated than expected by the intensity of the combat, which lasted for about three hours. The Palestinian medical services were not allowed to rescue the wounded, and the health ministry warned that "the situation in the refugee camp is very difficult." The IDF reinforced the “Iron Dome” anti-missile batteries in the face of a possible military escalation in the Gaza Strip. "All options are open," warned Islamic Jihad, which blamed Israel for the escalation and met urgently with the other armed factions.
The military action was precipitated after receiving precise intelligence information on the whereabouts of the suspects. “Islamic Jihad operatives were involved in planning and executing various terrorist attacks, including shootings at Israeli soldiers and civilians. During the operation, the troops detonated two bombs planted by the suspects, and gunmen opened fire," the IDF spokesman said.
Among the Palestinian victims is an elderly woman, and witnesses described the situation as a battlefield. “Concerned mothers walk the streets, trying to gather information about the whereabouts of their children. Children watch the fighting behind the curtains. The echoes of the explosions reverberate, and the drones fly over our heads,” reported Palestinian journalist Sakir Khader. Many families were trapped in their homes, terrified by the incessant fire from snipers.
According to witnesses, the troops entered the camp hidden inside a truck, and destroyed a building and several vehicles with a bulldozer. During the exchange of fire, Israeli forces fired tear gas in the vicinity of the Jenin hospital, causing the evacuation of the pediatric ward, where several children suffered hot flashes.
From the Palestinian foreign ministry they warned that "if the International Community and Washington do not intervene immediately to stop the deadly Israeli machine, when will they?" For Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, the morning operation was "a massacre ordered by the Israeli occupation government."
Wissam Baker, director of the Jenin public hospital, described what happened as “an unprecedented invasion. An ambulance tried to approach a wounded man, but was fired upon directly by Israeli forces."
Since the end of last year, Jenin has become the violent epicenter of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with frequent Israeli military operations that seek to decimate the operations of armed militias. So far this year, the IDF has killed 28 people - including five children - during raids in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Palestinian analysts have warned that the Jenin operation could be the start of a full-scale Israeli campaign.
