The Israeli army said it killed five Palestinian fighters holed up in a mosque on Thursday, on the second day of a vast “anti-terrorist operation” in the north of the occupied West Bank, on the sidelines of the war in the Gaza Strip with the Islamist movement Hamas.
The operation, which brought the number of deaths since Wednesday to at least 14, has sparked “deep concern” from the UN.
“I strongly condemn the deaths, especially of children, and call for an immediate end to these operations,” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on the social network X.
On Wednesday, the Israeli army had already said it had “eliminated” nine fighters after launching columns of armored vehicles during the night on Jenin, Tulkarem, Toubas and their refugee camps, where armed groups fighting against Israel are particularly active.
For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports “15 deaths” since the start of the raids.
Clashes continue
The five Palestinians killed Thursday in the Nour Shams camp in Tulkarem were “entrenched in a mosque,” according to the army. Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, confirmed the death of the “commander” of the camp, “Abu Choujaa.”
In Jenin, where sounds of fighting were heard, residents had deserted the streets, according to an AFP journalist.
Sounds of explosions were also heard in Tulkarm, according to another AFP journalist. Nearly half of the city has no water, and in the Nour Shams camp there is none at all, said Hakim Abu Safiyeh, a municipal employee in Tulkarm. “The destruction is enormous,” he added.
According to Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the army intends to “dismantle the Iranian-Islamist terrorist infrastructure” in the West Bank.
“The vast Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank must not constitute the premises for an extension of the war from Gaza, including large-scale destruction,” warned the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, on Thursday.
“Huge destruction”
Israeli incursions into Palestinian autonomous areas are a daily occurrence in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by the Israeli army since 1967. However, it is rare for them to be carried out simultaneously in several cities, and supported by aircraft, as has been the case since Wednesday.
In a statement, Iran denounced “the brutal destruction of urban infrastructure and services,” calling on the international community to take “immediate and effective measures to end the genocide of the Palestinian nation.”
The Israeli military has been pounding Gaza relentlessly since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel on October 7. Since then, violence in the West Bank has flared up.
At least 637 Palestinians have been killed there by the Israeli army or settlers, according to the UN, and at least 19 Israelis, including soldiers, in Palestinian attacks or during army operations in the Palestinian autonomous zone, according to official Israeli data.
Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian movement allied with Hamas, has accused Israel of working “to annex the West Bank.”
“Importance to the humanitarian effort”
In the Gaza Strip, the Civil Defense announced on Thursday eight deaths in an Israeli strike on Gaza City. A medical source reported to AFP that three Palestinians had died in a drone strike in Rafah.
The Israeli army said for its part that it had struck, in the last 24 hours, about 40 “terrorist targets” in the Gaza Strip, where it eliminated “dozens of terrorists”. One of the fighters eliminated had participated in the attack of October 7, according to it.
Israeli troops are also continuing their operations in Rafah, in the Khan Younis region and on the outskirts of Deir al Balah, according to the army.
Many families in distress continue to move across this territory as the Israeli army issues increasing evacuation orders.
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that it was suspending the movement of its personnel “until further notice” after one of its vehicles, which had “received multiple authorizations from the Israeli authorities,” was hit by Israeli gunfire on Tuesday, without causing any casualties. The Israeli army said the shooting was under investigation.
Meanwhile, mediators between Israel and Hamas – Qatar, Egypt and the United States – are still trying, unsuccessfully, to secure a ceasefire in Gaza that would include the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Of the 251 people abducted that day, 103 are still being held in Gaza, including 33 declared dead by the army.
Near the border on Thursday, families of the hostages gathered on the Israeli side to speak to their loved ones through loudspeakers.
“It’s mom […] “I pray to God that he brings you back. Right now. I love you, stay strong,” Rachel Golberg-Polin yells into a microphone, hoping to be heard by her son Hersh.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive on the Gaza Strip, where Hamas seized power in 2007, has devastated the small territory and left 40,602 people dead, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry in Gaza, which does not provide details on the number of civilians and fighters killed. The majority of the dead were women and minors, according to the UN.