An Israeli military drone reportedly fired three missiles at a group of people in the Jenin refugee camp.
A Palestinian teenager and three brothers were among at least six people killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to reports.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that an Israeli drone fired three missiles at a group of people near a roundabout in the camp on Tuesday evening, killing six people, including a 15-year-old boy, and injuring several others. others.
Five other victims of the attack were aged 23 to 34, including three brothers, Wafa reports. Earlier this month, an Israeli drone attack on the West Bank town of Tammun killed two Palestinian children and a 23-year-old from the same family.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hamdah Salhut said the drone strike on the Jenin camp comes amid intense Israeli military raids on local communities and the killing by Israeli forces of nearly 800 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7 2023 – as well as the arrest of several thousand people. others.
“The Israeli defense minister said that Israel would continue this policy throughout the West Bank,” Salhut said, adding that the violence in the occupied territory is now known as Israel’s “silent war.”
“It’s called the silent war – parallel, parallel to what Israel is doing in Gaza, but it doesn’t get as much attention,” Salhut said.
The deadly drone attack also comes amid a military operation launched in the Jenin camp by Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces in recent weeks, targeting Palestinian resistance fighters, who left more than a dozen dead.
Anwar Rajab, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority security forces, said the attack was aimed at “disrupting efforts” by authorities to ensure security and stability in Jenin.
Hassan Khraisheh, vice president of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said the drone attack demonstrated Israel’s willingness to kill Palestinians indiscriminately.
“This is a clear message from the Israeli occupation that every Palestinian is a target,” Khraisheh told Tel Aviv Tribune.
The drone strike also sparked anger among the local population, as it comes amid the PA’s military operation in Jenin, Khraisheh said, adding that the PA should now withdraw from Jenin and s unite with other Palestinian groups to oppose the Israeli occupation.
“Our enemy is one – whether they are resistance fighters or (Palestinian Authority) security forces,” he said.
“No one is protected against Israeli attacks. »
Earlier on Tuesday, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Battalion in Jenin said it had accepted a local initiative aimed at ending Palestinian infighting and ending bloodshed between Palestinians in the occupied territory. The group did not reveal details of the agreement, but said it affirms the “legitimate right to resist criminal occupation.”
Alongside its campaign to crack down on Jenin fighters as “outlaws”, the PA has also suspended Tel Aviv Tribune in the occupied West Bank, seen as a further silencing of dissent. and freedom of expression by authority.