Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in the northern occupied West Bank after a Palestinian opened fire at a security checkpoint before he was shot dead.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in the northern occupied West Bank after a Palestinian opened fire at a security checkpoint before he was shot dead.
In a statement, the Israeli army said on Tuesday that the attack took place at the Tayasir checkpoint near Jenin in the northern West Bank.
The Israeli Ynet outlet reported that the attacker, armed with an M-16 automatic rifle, opened fire from close range on a soldier coming out of a fortified bunker, leading to a gunfight that lasted several minutes.
According to the Israeli ambulance service, eight soldiers were also injured in the attack.
The incident occurred during a period of heightened tension in the West Bank, with major Israeli operations under way in the Jenin governorate, including the refugee camp in the city, in Tulkarem as well as other areas.
The Israeli military launched a major offensive dubbed “Iron Wall” in the territory last month, shortly after the ceasefire was agreed in Gaza.
Israel has also tightened its measures on existing checkpoints and erected new ones across the occupied West Bank. At least 900 such checkpoints, gates and dirt mounds have cut off Palestinian communities and rendered movement next to impossible between villages, towns and cities.
The deadly Israeli raids have continued for 15 days in Jenin, nine in Tulkarem and three in Tubas where two sites were shelled on Tuesday morning. At least 70 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded and detained by Israeli forces this year. The figure includes 44 people killed since the Israeli army launched its latest operation.
The Health Ministry said 10 children, one woman and two elderly Palestinians are among those killed by the Israeli army.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said the Jenin refugee camp is heading in a “catastrophic direction” after a new Israeli military operation levelled several buildings.
UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told reporters in Geneva that large parts of the camp had been “completely destroyed in a series of detonations by the Israeli forces”.
Israel’s attacks in the Tulkarem refugee camp have displaced three-quarters of Palestinians from the area, Faisal Salama, head of the Popular Committee for Services in the camp, said.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, on Monday condemned the Israeli attacks.
“Since the ceasefire was implemented in Gaza, there has been an escalation of extreme violence occurring across the West Bank, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas. This is unacceptable,” the organisation said in a post on X.
It warned that Israel’s blockade on Jenin caused by the ongoing operation is leading to a shortage of “vital” supplies.
