Israeli forces killed Palestinian students, a teacher and a doctor, and wounded others, including a journalist, during an assault on Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
At least seven people were killed in total and 19 wounded, two in serious condition, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
An undercover unit of Israeli special forces was discovered in the Jenin refugee camp around 8am local time, which was followed by an incursion of military vehicles into the area.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli forces were shooting indiscriminately at any Palestinian who moved in their vicinity, including people in their cars and families who went to pick up their children from school, which had been cancelled because of the raid.
Two boys, Osama Abu Hajeer, 16, and Mahmoud Hamadneh, 15, were killed as they were leaving their school. One of them was riding a bicycle when he was shot, according to local reports.
Allam Jaradat, 48, a teacher, was shot dead in his vehicle as he was also leaving the school. A photo taken from his car showed blood-stained school reports in the backseat.
“Jaradat was trying to leave the city… but the soldiers stopped him and shot him without any justification,” Amer Abu Ali, a resident of Jenin refugee camp, told Middle East Eye.
“He remained bleeding for more than half an hour without anyone being able to reach him, then he died of his wounds,” he added.
Mahmoud Hamadneh, a child, killed by the Israeli army in cold blood this morning in Jenin. pic.twitter.com/S8tainpgkp
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 21, 2024
Dr Osaid Jabarin, a general surgery specialist, was fatally shot in “cold blood” by Israeli forces as he was heading to Jenin Governmental Hospital, where he worked for the past 17 years, journalist Muhammad Abu Al-Rub told MEE.
Jabarin, 51, who is also a dentistry lecturer at Jenin’s Arab American University, was killed outside the hospital, according to Wissam Sbeihat, the director general of the health ministry in the city.
“The Israeli army targets everything that moves on the ground and prevents ambulances from reaching the injured,” Sbeihat said.
[There is] complete destruction of the infrastructure and direct targeting of medical personnel and ambulance teams.
Sbeihat said the Jenin hospital was unable to handle the large number of wounded people and warned they could “lost control” if the raid continues.
The other three slain Palestinians were identified by the health ministry as Basem Turkman, 53, Muamar Abu Amira, 50 and Amir Abu Amira, 22.
Israeli troops also opened fire at a group of journalists, an ambulance, a moving civilian car and people in the courtyard of Jenin hospital, according to eyewitnesses.
Journalist Amr Manasara and two men in the moving car were wounded in the attacks.
Medical teams were also blocked by Israeli forces from reaching some of those wounded in the attack, which led to the death of some victims from their injuries.
Local sources said at least 10 wounded people were lying in the alleys of Jenin camp and medical teams had not yet been able to reach them.
“Residents are trying to provide first aid to them in their homes,” he added.
Bulldozers destroy roads, water pipes
Israeli military machinery razing roads in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, 21 May 2024 (Photo: Reuters/Raneen Sawafta)
According to Abu Ali, Israeli soldiers stormed high-rise residential buildings and were stationed there.
Meanwhile, military bulldozers were brought in, and began razing and vandalising roads and infrastructure, deliberately destroying water pipes and sewage networks.
The soldiers also demolished the family home of Ahmed Jaradat, a member of Islamic Jihad armed wing who was killed by Israeli forces in a drone strike in March.
Palestinian armed groups present in the city said their members were confronting Israeli soldiers in street battles.
Social media footage showed explosive devices being detonated amid reports of heavy gun exchanges.
There were no immediate reports of Israeli casualties.
Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, warned of the “dangers of the ongoing Israeli genocidal war waged against the Palestinian people” from Rafah in the Gaza Strip to Jenin in the West Bank.
Hamas said the “massacre” in Jenin was a “desperate attempt” by the Israeli military to discourage Palestinians from resisting the occupation.
“As we mourn the martyrs, we affirm that the ongoing crimes of the occupation against our people in Gaza and the West Bank will not weaken the support of our people, nor will they stop their resistance and relentless pursuit of liberating their land and sanctities and achieving their national rights,” the group said in a statement.
The Israeli military said in a brief statement they had launched an operation in Jenin, adding that more details would follow.
The raid comes as Israeli forces have escalated deadly violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 7 October.
In over seven months, more than 500 Palestinians, including over 120 children, were killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Last week, the Israeli air force bombed a house in Jenin, killing a member of the Islamic Jihad armed wing and wounding others.
The escalation in the West Bank coincides with the continued aggression and besiegement of the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 35,500 Palestinians and wounded nearly 80,000 more.