Israeli raid in West Bank refugee camp leaves 14 dead

Gaza: At least 14 people were killed following an Israeli military raid at the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, the Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry said.

According to the Ministry, Thursday’s operation which involved armed clashes with Palestinians and airstrikes, was the deadliest such incident that lasted for over 12 hours.

The incident also resulted in extensive infrastructure damage.

It was not immediately clear if the casualties were civilians or militants.

In response to the raids, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it conducted the operation to “thwart terrorist infrastructure” and to demolish the home of a man who allegedly killed an off-duty Israeli soldier in an August 31 ramming attack, CNN reported.

“Engineering forces uncovered explosive devices intended to harm our forces in the Jenin refugee camp. The commander of the Central Command signed a demolition order for the home of the terrorist who carried out the stampede attack at the Maccabim checkpoint and the Hashmonaim checkpoint,” the military said in a statement.

According to the UN Relief Works Agency, the Jenin refugee camp, which borders the Jenin municipality and is the northernmost camp in the West Bank, houses about 23,628 Palestine refugees registered.

The Palestinian Health Ministry also said that another five fatalities were recorded on Thursday during confrontations in the course of search-and-arrest operations in Anin (Jenin), Bethlehem city, Balata Refugee Camp (Nablus), Al Am’ari Refugee Camp (Ramallah) and At Tabaqa (Hebron)

Since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 167 Palestinians, including 45 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

While an additional eight people, including a child, were killed by Israeli settlers, three Israelis died in attacks by Palestinians.IANS