Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medics on Tuesday stormed a hospital in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza, while US President Joe Biden said he had decided on a response to the killing of US troops in Jordan on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of thousands of jailed militants — Hamas’ main two demands for any ceasefire — casting doubt on the latest efforts to end a war that has destabilized the broader Middle East.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Israeli forces opened fire inside Ibn Sina Hospital in the West Bank town of Jenin.
Photo: AFP / social media
A hospital spokesperson said there was no exchange of fire, indicating it was a targeted killing.
Israel’s military said the militants were using the hospital as a hideout, without providing evidence. It alleged that one of those targeted had transferred weapons and ammunition to others for a planned attack, purportedly inspired by Hamas’ assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year that triggered the war in Gaza.
Security camera footage from the hospital shows about a dozen undercover forces, most of them armed, wearing Muslim headscarves, hospital scrubs or white doctor’s coats. One carried a rifle in one arm and a folded wheelchair in the other.
Netanyahu, speaking at an event elsewhere in the West Bank, denied reports of a possible ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza and repeated his vow to keep fighting until “absolute victory” over Hamas.
“We will not end this war without achieving all of our goals,” said Netanyahu, who is under mounting pressure from families of the hostages and the wider public to reach a deal.
“We will not withdraw the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” he said.
Meanwhile, Biden said he had decided on a response to a drone strike that killed three US soldiers in Jordan at the weekend, while insisting that he did not want a wider war in the Middle East.
The White House said that “multiple actions” were likely in retaliation for the first fatal attack on US forces in the region since the Israel-Hamas war broke out.
A leading pro-Iranian group in Iraq on Tuesday said that it would halt attacks on US forces as military action loomed, but there was no sign it would be enough to stop Washington retaliating.
“I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for,” Biden told reporters in Florida.
Iranian Ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani said that Tehran would respond decisively to any attack on its territory, its interests, or Iranian nationals outside its borders, Iranian state media reported yesterday.
Additional reporting by AFP and Reuters
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