Israeli forces continued their operations in the northern occupied West Bank for the seventh consecutive day on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of at least 30 Palestinians, as reported by the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry.
Israel’s counter-terrorism campaign, as they term it, commenced on August 28 in cities across the northern West Bank, a region under Israeli occupation since 1967 and known for its active Palestinian armed movements.
On Tuesday, two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack in a neighbourhood of eastern Tulkarm, as announced by the Health Ministry.
Additionally, a 16-year-old Palestinian girl lost her life at the hands of the Israeli army in Kfar Dan, a village administratively linked to Jenin, located further north, according to the same source.
In the Jenin sector, Israeli soldiers began surrounding two buildings where armed terrorists had taken refuge, as reported by the Israeli army to AFP.
“During the encirclement, terrorists opened fire at our soldiers, and our forces returned fire, targeting a suspect,” they added, and acknowledged the teenager’s death in the exchange of fire.
The Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry provided an updated toll, stating, “We have 33 dead and approximately 130 injured in the West Bank since last Wednesday: 19 in the Jenin area, 7 in Tulkarm, and 4 in Tubas.”
This toll includes three deaths in the Hebron area, unrelated to the Israeli military operations in the north. One of the victims is believed to have carried out an attack that resulted in the deaths of three Israelis.
Israeli raids have been concentrated in Jenin.
On Monday, the Israeli army announced that, as part of its counter-terrorism efforts, they had killed 14 militants and arrested 25 terrorists.
The Jenin municipality also reported extensive damage, with its spokesperson, Bashir Matahen, stating that 80% of the water supply pipes had been destroyed since the operations began.
Additionally, the municipality found that 70% of the roads had been damaged.
An AFP correspondent witnessed streets in some neighbourhoods completely destroyed by Israeli army bulldozers, a technique employed to neutralise explosive devices. The correspondent observed that the city’s roads were largely deserted, except for some Palestinian ambulances and Israeli army tanks.
Jenin and its neighbouring refugee camp are considered strongholds of Palestinian armed movements resisting the Israeli occupation. While Israeli military raids in these areas are not uncommon, simultaneous, coordinated large-scale operations like those of the past week are rare.
In Tulkarm, located near Jenin, the Israeli army announced on Monday that it had carried out an airstrike against a group of militants who opened fire on security forces during the counter-terrorism operation.
The Tulkarm General Hospital informed AFP that a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed in the bombing, while his father and four other individuals were injured.
Roads in the city, which borders Israeli territory, were damaged or completely destroyed, particularly by Israeli army bulldozers, according to an AFP journalist on the ground.
The escalation of violence in the West Bank, including the deaths of at least 637 Palestinians, as counted by the UN, and at least 23 Israelis, including soldiers, according to official Israeli data, has been linked to the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli military and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
(information from amna.gr)
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