9 Palestinians, including elderly woman, killed by Israeli army in clashes near Jenin
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Hashim Sheikh
- . January 26, 2023
- . Update: January 26, 2023 9:47 pm
In one of the deadliest days in the occupied West Bank since Israeli raids intensified at the start of last year, Israeli commandos killed nine Palestinians, including an elderly woman, and wounded 20 others during clashes with gunmen on Thursday, witnesses and medics said. Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila also claimed that tear gas was fired into a Jenin hospital, causing smoke-related injuries.
Palestinians have described the incident as a “massacre”. The Israeli military said it sent special forces into Jenin to detain Islamic Jihad fighters suspected of carrying out and planning “multiple major terror attacks”, shooting a number of them after they opened fire.
Israeli forces launched a deep raid and besieged Jenin’s refugee camp in the early hours with undercover forces, snipers, and armoured vehicles. Islamic Jihad confirmed battling the Israeli forces, and another Islamist group, Hamas, said its men were also involved.
In a statement, the Israeli officials said, “two armed suspects were identified fleeing the scene and were neutralised by the security forces.”
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The death toll triggered a warning from Islamic Jihad that its ceasefire with Israel could be in danger.
No IDF injuries were reported. At least one Palestinian was detained during the raid, the military statement said.
The Palestinian health minister said there were a number of wounded Palestinians waiting to get treated by emergency services since the Israeli army blocked their access to the scene. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has called on the international community and the US to “intervene immediately”.
The activity in the Jenin refugee camp brings the number of Palestinians killed this year to 29. Last year, almost 150 Palestinians were killed, making 2022 the deadliest in over 15 years, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem mentioned.
Contrary to Israel’s reiterated claims that most of the dead were militants, youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in the clashes have also been killed.
