Five Palestinians were shot dead in Jenin on Sunday, while three others were killed elsewhere in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, including a child, in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, bringing the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank to 239 since October 7.
Israeli forces shot dead five Palestinians in the city of Jenin Saturday evening and early Sunday, and killed three others elsewhere in the West Bank, the ministry said Sunday. Six other Palestinians were injured in the Israeli raid in Jenin.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency said Israeli forces stormed Jenin “from several directions, firing bullets and surrounding government hospitals and the headquarters of the Red Crescent Society.”
The Israeli military spokesperson’s office said it was investigating the information.
The raids come despite a four-day truce between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where nearly 15,000 Palestinians, including more than 6,000 children, have been killed in Israeli strikes.
Israeli officials said 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7, when the Palestinian group captured about 240 people.
On Saturday, Hamas released 13 Israeli and four Thai prisoners, while Israel released in exchange a first batch of 39 Palestinian prisoners. Other Israeli and Palestinian captives are expected to be released on Sunday.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed at least 237 Palestinians, including 52 children, in the occupied West Bank, while arresting more than 3,000 people, as they intensified their raids in the West Bank since the launch of their military offensive on Gaza .
Last year was “the deadliest” for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since 2006, according to the United Nations. Israeli forces have killed 170 Palestinians in these areas in 2022. This year, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 371 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
“For every Palestinian prisoner release (by the Israelis), there seems to be a continued disregard for the Palestinian freedoms they continue to hold, a continued disregard for Palestinian lives as they continue to kill people in very violent and endless raids in the occupied West. Bank,” said Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Zein Basravi, reporting from Ramallah in the West Bank.
Seven weeks of relentless Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, more than a third of whom were children, and displaced at least 1.5 million people, according to Gaza officials.