Israel yesterday launched raids across the occupied West Bank, in which its forces killed at least nine Palestinians and sealed off the volatile city of Jenin, Palestinian officials said.
Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 last year triggered the ongoing war.
Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire with the Israeli military.
Photo: AFP
Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp.
The Israeli military confirmed it was operating in the West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, but did not provide further details.
At least 652 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began more than 10 months ago, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Most have died during such raids, which often trigger clashes with militants.
Israel said the operations are required to dismantle Hamas and other militant groups, and to prevent attacks on Israelis, which have also risen since the start of the war.
The Palestinian ministry said the bodies of seven people were taken to the hospital in Tubas, another West Bank city, and another two were taken to the hospital in Jenin.
The ministry identified two killed in Jenin as Qassam Jabarin, 25, and Asem Balout, 39.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians want all three for a future state.
Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank, which are home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers. They have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited control over population centers.
The war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and rampaged through army bases and farming communities, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250.
The militants are still holding about 110 hostages, about one-third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a ceasefire in November last year.
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian ministry, which does not say how many were militants.
About 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, and Israeli bombardment and ground operations have caused vast destruction.
Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight and into yesterday killed at least 16 people, including five women and three children. Most of the strikes were in or near the southern city of Khan Younis, which has come under heavy bombardment over the past two months.
Associated Press reporters at two hospitals confirmed the toll.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to mediate a ceasefire that would see the remaining hostages released. However, the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed “total victory” over Hamas and the militant group has demanded a lasting ceasefire and a full withdrawal from the territory.
There was no sign of a breakthrough after days of talks in Egypt, and the negotiations move to Qatar this week.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS