Israeli forces assassinate six Palestinians in West Bank drone strike

Jan 07, 2024 08:39 UTC

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At least six Palestinians have been martyred in an Israeli drone strike on Jenin, amid an uptick in violence from Israeli forces against the West Bank since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7.

The strike targeted a gathering of civilians south of Jenin early on Sunday morning, assassinating at least six Palestinians, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said in a post on Facebook.

The government hospital confirmed the number of casualties.

An Israeli soldier was also killed during the early Sunday raid of Jenin.

The Israeli army also raided Jenin city and its refugee camp at midnight.

Israeli helicopters fired heavy machine gun rounds toward civilian homes in the Jenin refugee camp and large Israeli reinforcements were sent in through the Jenin checkpoint.

Strong resistance from Palestinian fighters residing in the camps was reported.

Several videos showed explosions of IED (improvised explosive device) used by Palestinians against the Israeli forces as fierce clashes erupted.

Four Israeli police officers were injured and an Israeli army vehicle was destroyed by an IED, during the overnight raid in the Jenin refugee camp, a joint Israeli army and police statement said.

Elsewhere in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, armed clashes broke out after Israeli forces attacked the city at dawn on Sunday, according to video footage verified by Al Jazeera.

Israeli forces arrested a young Palestinian after raiding her home in Nablus. They also raided other cities in the West Bank such as Hebron, Qalqilya and Jericho.

Three months have passed since the October 7 cross-border operation by Hamas fighters. During this period, relentless Israeli strikes and ground attacks have massacred at least 22,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Since the war erupted in Gaza, the Occupied West Bank has faced growing Israeli aggression. More than 332 Palestinians have been assassinated by Israeli troops or settlers, at least 5,600 people arrested and more than 3,000 injured.