At least 15 other people were injured by Israeli forces during an incursion into the Jenin refugee camp, according to local officials.
Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians in a raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, as Israel steps up its deadly attacks in the territory.
The three were identified as Ibrahim Taher Muhammad al-Saadi, 21; Issa Nafez Jallad, 17 years old; and Uday Ayman Marei, 24, Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted the director of the Jenin government hospital as saying.
The director, Wissam Bakr, said 15 other people were injured and were transferred to several hospitals, including al-Razi hospital in Jenin and Ibn Sina hospital.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said its teams treated eight people injured during the raid, five of whom were hit by live ammunition and two injured by shrapnel.
The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said in a statement that its fighters were engaged in “violent clashes” near the Jenin refugee camp.
Wafa quoted its correspondent as saying that a convoy of Israeli army vehicles, including bulldozers, had entered the area, supported by Apache attack helicopters.
The report states that Israeli army tanks belonging to special forces destroyed stalls belonging to local vendors and fired bullets towards the camp’s main electrical transformer, leading to a power outage.
Hospitals were surrounded and emergency services were prevented from reaching the injured, the statement added. At least two people were also arrested.
The Israeli army regularly carries out raids in the town and its adjacent camp.
The West Bank has been experiencing an upsurge in violence for more than a year, but especially since Israel launched its latest deadly attack on the besieged Gaza Strip on October 7.
At least 530 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or illegal settlers since October, according to Palestinian officials.
Thousands of people have also been arrested, many of whom are placed in administrative detention, a widely criticized practice in which Israeli forces imprison Palestinians without trial or charge for renewable periods of six months.
Earlier this week, UN human rights chief Volker Turk denounced the bloodshed. “Widespread impunity for such crimes has been commonplace for far too long in the occupied West Bank,” he said, adding that this has created an environment ripe for more “unlawful killings” by Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip while intensifying its ground incursions into the southern and central areas of the enclave. More than 36,650 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children.
