Israel kills 9 Palestinians in deadliest clash in years

Friday, 27 January 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

JENIN, AFP: Israeli forces in a West Bank raid killed nine Palestinians Thursday, officials in the occupied territory said, while the Israeli military said troops traded fire with Islamist militants during a “counterterrorism operation”.

The bloodiest day in the West Bank in years erupted during a raid on the crowded refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, where gunshots rang through the streets and smoke billowed from burning street barricades.

Palestinian Health Ministry said the death toll from the clashes rose to nine, including a woman, and that 20 people were wounded before the Israeli forces withdrew mid-morning.

The military said Israeli forces came under fire during a “counterterrorism operation to apprehend an Islamic Jihad terror squad” and shot several enemy combatants.

Since its records began in 2005, the United Nations has never recorded such a high death toll in a single operation in the West Bank.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila charged that “occupation forces stormed Jenin Government Hospital and intentionally fired tear gas canisters at the paediatric department in the hospital”.

The Israeli military denied its forces entered the hospital. “But the activity was not far away from the hospital and it is possible some tear gas entered through an open window,” a spokesman said.