Israeli soldier killed during West Bank raid
One Israeli soldier has been killed and 16 others reportedly injured during a military raid in Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank.
According to residents, Israeli forces raided a pharmacy just outside Jenin’s urban refugee camp overnight, arresting people inside. Armoured bulldozers damaged nearby infrastructure, they say.
Israeli media report that one roadside bomb injured soldiers in an armoured vehicle as they left Jenin. As additional troops arrived to help them, another bomb exploded, killing the soldier.
Reports said one of the soldiers was in a serious condition, with others moderately or lightly hurt.
The armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claimed it detonated the bombs.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that a young Palestinian man was injured in the face by bullet shrapnel during violent confrontations that took place during the raid.
There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, which was triggered by Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel on 7 October.
The UN says 536 Palestinians – members of armed groups, attackers and civilians – had been killed as of Monday in conflict-related incidents across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. At least 519 have been killed by Israeli forces and 10 by Israeli settlers, it adds.
Twelve Israelis, including eight security forces personnel, had also been killed in the West Bank during the same period, according to the UN. Another eight Israelis had been killed in attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said on Thursday morning that at least 28 Palestinians – including nine from Jenin governorate – had been arrested across the West Bank over the previous day, bringing the total number of arrests since October to 9,430.
Jenin has seen regular Israeli raids, with the military previously saying it was targeting Hamas and PIJ operatives.
On Saturday, the military said its forces had violated protocol by strapping a wounded Palestinian man to the front of their jeep during operations in Jenin.