Israeli forces killed at least seven Palestinians, including children, in Jenin early on Tuesday, in the latest of a series of violent raids on the city in the occupied West Bank.
Among those killed were a doctor, a teacher, and two children, the Palestinian health ministry stated.
The doctor, identified as 50-year-old Dr. Usaeed Jabarin, was killed in the vicinity of Jenin Hospital, where he worked as a surgical specialist, having spent 17 years in hospitals affiliated with the Palestinian ministry of health.
In an official statement, the ministry said: "The crime of intentionally killing the martyr doctor at the hands of the occupation forces is added to the series of daily [Israeli] occupation crimes and its continuing attacks on the Palestinian health sector in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."
Schoolteacher Allam Jaradat was shot dead by Israeli forces inside his vehicle on the way to work, while Mahmoud Hamadneh and Osama Abu Jareer, both under the age of 18, were also killed in the Israeli assault.
Jenin, the occupied West Bank |
Dr. Osayd Jabarin, a senior surgeon at the Jenin Governmental Hospital, was just shot dead in cold blood this morning by Israeli army snipers while in the way to his work, according to witnesses. pic.twitter.com/GKnQOsKWt9
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen)
Nine Palestinians were injured in the incursion, with two in critical condition.
The ministry went on to appeal to the international community and human rights groups to "intervene immediately in protecting Palestinians, medical personnel and hospitals, as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention".
Distressing footage online showed school children attempting to flee their school amid indiscriminate Israeli shooting.
Following the raid, which occurred at around 8am local time, all schools in Jenin and in the adjacent refugee camp were evacuated, Wafa said.
Other videos showed dozens of tanks forcing their way into the city, with bulldozers destroying buildings and other infrastructure in Jenin.
The Israeli military also fired at ambulances attempting to make their way towards victims, the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) said. Visible bullet holes on ambulances could be seen, in images shared on social media.
The Red Crescent said that Israeli forces prevented its crews from reaching casualties in the Al-Ghabz area during the Jenin camp raid, the New Arab's Arabic-language site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.
The Israeli military, however, claimed in a statement that troops had launched a "counterterrorism operation in Jenin and they were fighting with armed men", despite the civilian death toll.
Other raids were also reported in Tubas, Hebron, Nablus and Ramallah. The PRC said that its crews dealt with a live bullet wound shot at a 22-year-old man in the thigh in Beit Ummar, near Hebron.
The Israeli military has carried out frequent, often deadly, raids across the West Bank, particularly in Jenin, over the past year.
These incursions intensified after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power in December 2022 at the head of a far-right government, and worsened after the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023.
At least 512 Palestinians have now been killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the West Bank since the Gaza war broke out on October 7, according to Palestinian officials.
