A number of hospitals were surrounded and at least five people were killed as Israeli forces launched a major raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank.
The attacks, launched overnight and lasting into Friday, also left at least 14 others injured, according to Palestinian sources. The raid on the Ibn Sina Hospital has ended after several hours.
The five that died were killed by a drone strike on the Jenin refugee camp. Air strikes have become more regular in the West Bank as the war in Gaza rages.
Emergency services were prevented by Israeli forces from reaching the injured, potentially placing lives at risk, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
From about 10.30pm on Thursday, the Israeli army pushed at least 80 military vehicles into the city of Jenin, raiding Palestinian homes and detaining several people. There were reports of violent clashes.
“Dozens of armoured vehicles turned up, with bulldozers as well, damaging cars, damaging the roads,” reported Al Jazeera’s Sara Khairat from occupied East Jerusalem. The raid lasted for about eight hours.
At least four hospitals were surrounded by Israeli soldiers.
“Israeli forces turned up at Ibn Sina Hospital, one of the biggest in the occupied West Bank. They turned up in a raid where they asked medical staff to put their hands up and evacuate the hospital,” Khairat said.
A number of doctors from the hospital refused to comply and evacuate; two paramedics were arrested, she added.
“It is important to note that this happened in Jenin refugee camp where clashes have been intense almost daily … But the nature of this particular raid is quite incredible, really. Not just it being a hospital but the way the Israeli forces are coming in,” Khairat continued.
The Israeli military said that it had exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters, who then used ambulances to flee towards Ibn Sina Hospital “in order to hide there”. One Palestinian fighter was arrested at the entrance of the medical facility, the army said.
Tensions have been high across the West Bank since Israel launched its war on Hamas on October 7, which has killed at least 11,500 people in the Gaza Strip.
Wafa also reported that Israeli forces raided several homes in the town of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, and arrested at least 28 people on Friday.
On Thursday, three Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli soldiers after opening fire at a checkpoint in the West Bank. One Israeli soldier was killed in the attack, according to Israeli officials.
Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Ramallah in the West Bank, said such attacks using small arms and explosives have increased in recent weeks amid mounting anger over civilian deaths in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.
“As Israel continues to turn up the heat, turn up the pressure on Palestinian communities, people are beginning to push back,” he said.
Since October 7, 203 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids in the West Bank.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies