Jerusalem, Oct 30 (EFE).- Four Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military operation in Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said Monday.
Some 122 Palestinians have now been killed in the West Bank since the current escalation of violence began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack against Israel killing more than 1,400 people and taking over 230 hostage.
Israel has responded with daily shelling of Gaza, killing over 8,000 people and injuring more than 20,000, sending in ground troops, and imposing a siege of the enclave.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said one of the four people killed on Monday was 27-year-old Weam Hanoun, one of the leaders of Islamic Jihad and founder of the Jenin Brigade, which brings together all the militias in Jenin camp which has gained a lot of strength since it was formed just over a year ago.
The Jenin refugee camp is one of the strongholds of the Palestinian militia movement in the West Bank and was the focus of a three-day Israeli military offensive in July.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that 100 military vehicles entered the city along with armored bulldozers, and that an Israeli drone carried out an air strike during the operation.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed the air strike against “several armed terrorists” who were clashing with Israeli troops in Jenin.
The raid was one of several operations carried out by Israeli security forces Sunday night, according to the military spokesman, who said that 51 suspects had been arrested, 38 of whom were alleged Hamas members.
A military statement added that some 1,070 Palestinians have been detained by Israel in the West Bank since the start of the conflict with Hamas in Gaza just over three weeks ago.
During one of the overnight raids, in the town of Yatta, clashes broke out that ended with the death of a 23-year-old Palestinian man shot by Israeli troops, Wafa reported.
Shortly afterwards, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the death of a 23-year-old man from wounds sustained a few days ago by Israeli settlers near Ramallah.
The occupied West Bank is experiencing their greatest spiral of violence since the Second Intifada uprising (2000-05). EFE
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