Residents of the Jenin camp, which has been the subject of nightly raids since October 7, say they are “shocked” by the scale of the attack.
Two Palestinian boys were shot and killed by Israeli forces in Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
As talks to extend the truce between Israel and Hamas continued Wednesday ahead of an imminent deadline, the Israeli army attacked the Jenin refugee camp, causing widespread destruction and killing four Palestinians, including two children.
Adam Samer al-Ghoul, 8, was shot in the head and Basil Suleiman Abu al-Wafa, 15, died after being shot in the chest.
The Israeli army forced residents of the ad-Damj neighborhood to leave their homes at gunpoint and destroyed the neighborhood’s streets, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, citing security and local sources.
The army also bombed a house using a drone, according to the report.
In a joint statement to Israeli media, the Border Police, the Israeli army and the Shin Bet security agency said the army had killed two people believed to be involved in armed resistance, including a key leader. Their names were Muhammad Zubeidi and Hussam Hanoun. The statement acknowledged that two other people were killed during clashes in the area.
An Israeli military spokesperson did not immediately respond to Tel Aviv Tribune’s request for further comment.
According to the statement, 17 Palestinians were arrested during the raid.
CCTV footage circulating online shows a boy falling on a street in the camp after being hit by a bullet. Another video appears to show the other boy being beaten in the street and calling for help as more bullets are fired onto the ground around him.
The older boy can be seen thrashing on the ground in apparent agony for at least half a minute.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Charles Stratford, reporting from Jenin, said people were “shocked” by the scale of the latest Israeli raid on the refugee camp, which has been the subject of several Israeli incursions since the start of the war.
“They describe it as the biggest raid since October 7,” Stratford said, referring to the start of the most recent war between Israel and Hamas.
“We spoke to the owner of a house that was destroyed. He said it was around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) this morning when Israeli soldiers surrounded the house. He then became aware that at least one Palestinian fighter – perhaps two – was hiding in his home,” he added.
“What happened afterwards was that the Palestinian fighters were killed while the house was destroyed. »
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces prevented its doctors from reaching the camp, “despite the presence of injured people who need help and whose lives are threatened.”
Israeli occupying forces prevent PRCS paramedics
from reaching a besieged area of the Jenin refugee camp, despite the presence of injured people who need help and whose lives are under threat.#Jenine #Notatarget#IHL pic.twitter.com/ATCVDmBKHD
– PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 29, 2023
Israeli army raids have taken place daily in the West Bank since the start of the war. According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) and the Prisoners Affairs Authority, Israeli forces arrested 35 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in the past 24 hours, including a 12-year-old child.
The total number of people arrested since October 7 now stands at more than 3,325, the PPS said.
At least 242 Palestinians, including more than 50 children, have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7. More than 2,750 were injured.
