JERUSALEM -Three Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed Monday after an Israeli attack helicopter hit a target in the occupied West Bank as a shootout escalated in the city of Jenin between Israeli forces and militants. Officials said he was dead.
The riot marked an unusual operation of the Israeli Air Force in the region. In between the clashes, Palestinian militants exploded roadside bombs next to Israeli military vehicles. At least 29 Palestinians were injured, six of them seriously, and Israeli media reported that several Israeli soldiers were wounded.
The West Bank has been ravaged by near-daily violence for more than a year. This latest escalation was the most recent. During an arrest raid in Jenin, the Israeli military claimed that troops were hit by Palestinian gunfire and fired back at the attackers. Multiple Israeli soldiers were wounded in the fighting, according to Israeli media, but no additional information was provided.
According to the army, “a military vehicle was hit by an explosive device as the security forces exited the city, causing the vehicle to be damaged,” and helicopters “opened fire toward the gunmen in order to assist in extraction of the forces.”
Roadside explosives aimed at Israeli armored vehicles were captured on unverified amateur Jenin video footage. During the ongoing military operation, an Israeli military helicopter was seen in another online video firing a missile.
In their operations in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces only use a few aircraft. For the first time since the Palestinian uprising at the beginning of the 2000s, Israeli media reported that combat helicopters were used in the region.
At least six others sustained serious injuries in the shooting, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Khalid Assassa, 21, Qassam Abu Sarya, 29, and Ahmed Sakr, 15, were the deceased. said.
Violence between Israel and Palestinians has been going on for months, mostly in the West Bank, where 120 Palestinians have died this year. For Palestinian fighters, Jenin became a hotbed of activity.
Hussein Al-shekh, a senior Palestinian official, stated that President Mahmoud Abbas would make “unprecedented decisions” at the upcoming crisis conference and accused Israel of waging a “fierce and open war” against the Palestinian people. specify.
The “continued escalation by Israel against the Palestinians” was condemned by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stated that it would only exacerbate the situation and undermine efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region.
The West Bank, where 124 Palestinians have been killed this year, has been the scene of months of violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Palestinian militancy has been prevalent in Jenin, a city. During the 1967 Mideast War, Israel took east Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. The Palestinians wish to establish an independent state in those areas.
In response to a flurry of Palestinian violence at the beginning of the year, Israel has been conducting raids in the West Bank nearly every night. During that time, Palestinian attacks on Israelis have increased significantly.
Although Israel claims that the majority of those killed were militants, youths who threw stones in protest of the incursions and others who were not involved in combat have also been killed. This year, at least 20 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian attacks.
