Israeli forces had already targeted several representatives of this Islamist movement on Tuesday, killing fifteen people, including children, in Gaza.
Two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement were killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, May 10, the day after strikes on the Gaza Strip which had already targeted this armed group, killing 15 people, including children. This Palestinian organization described as “terrorist” by Israel, the European Union and the United States, confirmed in a press release that the two men killed were members of its armed wing.
Ahmed Assaf, 19, and Rani Qatanat, 24, were shot dead in Qabatiyah, a town near Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday. A 17-year-old boy was also seriously injured by bullets in the abdomen and chest, according to the same source.
The Israeli army, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, claimed that “attackers” in a car opened fire on his soldiers during an operation in which the latter “arrested a wanted suspect”. The military “retaliated by shooting at the two assailants and killing them”the Israeli army said. “Additionally, gunshots were heard in the area and suspects threw explosive devices at the soldiers.”
Israeli operations are increasing
Across the West Bank, about 20 people were also arrested on Wednesday in Israeli operations, according to the army and Palestinian sources. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, three people were also injured near Ramallah by the Israeli army and settlers.
The Israeli raids carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday raised fears of reprisals from Palestinian armed groups. Dozens of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel on Wednesday. Warning sirens sounded in the Tel Aviv area, but also in other Israeli cities such as Sderot, Ashdod and Ashkelon. According to the emergency services, there were no injuries.
Reacting to Israeli strikes, Egyptian diplomacy on Tuesday denounced “attacks” Who “could drive the situation out of control in the occupied Palestinian territories”. The United States, for its part, called “all parties to de-escalation” and the UN envoy for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, judged “unacceptable” the death of civilians in the Gaza Strip, under Israeli blockade since the takeover of the Islamist Hamas in 2007.
Since the beginning of 2023, at least 125 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian have been killed in violence linked to the conflict between the two states, according to an AFP count compiled from official Israeli sources and Palestinians.