JENIN: Israeli troops killed seven Palestinians in a raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Friday, officials said.

At least 14 Palestinians have now been killed in Israeli operations this week in the occupied West Bank, where the Gaza war has fuelled tensions since October last year.

The Palestinian Authority health ministry said the seven dead were aged between 19 and 54. Hamas said one of the seven was a “commander” in the group.

An Israeli military statement claimed there was a gun battle in the Jenin refugee camp.

At least 38,011 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 2023

The Wafa official Palestinian news agency said military vehicles surrounded a house and demands were made by loudspeaker for one occupant to surrender. Shoulder-launched missiles were fired and a drone used in the four-hour raid, it added.

However, according to the Israeli military, two Palestinians who took part in an attack on Israeli forces last week were killed. The military admitted that a drone was used for the strike.

A Hamas statement said five of the “martyrs” were members of the group that rules the Gaza Strip. One, Ahmed Mahmud al-Aridi, 30, was named as a Hamas “commander”.

Before the latest Israeli raid in Jenin, seven Palestinians were killed in military operations this week.

A woman and child died in an Israeli raid in a refugee camp near Tulkarem on Monday, four men in a drone attack on the same Nur Shams camp on Tuesday and one man in Jenin on Wednesday, according to the health ministry.

Fourteen people died in a two-day Israeli operation in Nur Shams in April, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

At least 38,011 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since the escalation of Israeli attacks on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2024