Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians during raids in the occupied West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said, according to Reuters.
As it wages a now three-week-old war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israel has also stepped up operations in the West Bank, killing scores of Palestinians and arresting hundreds. One Israeli soldier was killed in a clash.
The Israeli military claimed that during West Bank arrest operations its troops came under attack in the city of Jenin and fired back, killing Ayser al-Amar, allegedly of the Islamic Jihad faction. Islamic Jihad confirmed al-Amar belonged to the group. Hamas said one of its men, Jawad al-Turki, was killed during the Jenin fighting.
WAFA named the two men, another Palestinian killed in Jenin and a fourth man in the West Bank town of Qalqiya, saying their deaths took the number of Palestinians killed since the Hamas-Israel conflict broke out to 110, with more than 1,900 people injured.
The military claimed that in Qalqiya, troops came under fire while shutting down a store whose owner was accused of incitement to violence. They returned fire, hitting at least one person, the military’s statement said.
