Three police officers were killed in a shootout at a checkpoint near Tarqumiyah, south of Hebron.
Three members of the Israeli security forces were killed in a shootout at a checkpoint in Hebron, as Israel sent reinforcements to the occupied West Bank city of Jenin as part of its ongoing deadly raids.
Sunday’s shooting came as the Israeli military continued its deadly assault on Jenin for the fifth straight day, killing at least 24 Palestinians. Israel has killed more than 500 people in its intensified operations in the West Bank since launching the war on Gaza on October 7. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 11 months.
Police confirmed that three police officers were killed near the Tarqumiyah checkpoint, south of Hebron. Earlier in the day, Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom said that two people, a man and a woman in their 30s, were pronounced dead at the scene while a third man in his 50s was taken to hospital.
A little-known armed group called the Khalil al-Rahman Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. Hamas praised the attack as a “natural response” to the war in Gaza and called for more attacks.
“The attacks have so far been concentrated in the northern West Bank and the Jordan Valley region and we are now seeing more of them coming from the southern West Bank,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Niba Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army said it was carrying out a raid on the Palestinian village of Idhna, near the scene of the shooting.
Akram Natsheh, a journalist in Hebron, told Tel Aviv Tribune that Israeli forces closed all roads leading in and out of the southern city as drones flew overhead.
“There is only tension and apprehension as Israeli forces move into the entire area – the situation is likely to get worse,” he said.
According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, six people, including three women, were arrested in the Hebron area while raids took place in the areas of Yatta and Halhul.
Siege of Jenin
Meanwhile, the Israeli siege on the city of Jenin has deprived Palestinians of food, water, electricity and internet access. Local authorities said 70 percent of the roads in the Jenin area have been razed.
Israeli forces stormed the northern cities of Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, backed by oil tankers, drones and bulldozers, in their largest operations in the West Bank since the second intifada in 2002.
The Israeli military says its intention is to target armed groups to prevent future attacks. Armed clashes have been reported in several locations and Hamas said at least ten of its fighters, including a senior commander, were killed this week.
However, the destruction left by the Israeli army in the areas from which it withdrew, particularly in Tulkarem and Tubas, has raised concerns among residents that the army intends to extend the war from Gaza to the West Bank and drive Palestinians from their homes.
The Israeli army has seriously destroyed infrastructure, water pipes and the electrical system.
“The Palestinians say the main goal of this military operation, the largest in more than two decades, is destruction,” Tel Aviv Tribune’s Ibrahim said.
“They say it’s not a security necessity. It’s about reminding Palestinians of the price they will have to pay if they choose to resist the Israeli military occupation,” she added.