An explosive devise planted by Palestinian militants explodes after being detonated by Israeli soldiers during a military raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp near the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Tuesday, Dec. 24
Ramallah, December 25 (RHC)-- Israeli troops and military aircraft have killed at least eight Palestinians, including two women and a teenager, in attacks on the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Seven people were killed in an Israeli drone attack and shooting by troops in the Tulkarem refugee camp, and one person was killed in the nearby Nur Shams camp, the Health Ministry said, following a bloody day of Israeli military raids that began at dawn on Tuesday.
The ministry said that two Palestinian women – identified as Khawla Ali Abdullah Abdo, 53, and Bara Khalid Hussein, 30 – and an 18-year-old, Fathi Saeed Salem Obaid, were among the seven people killed in the Israeli attacks on Tulkarem.
The official Wafa news agency reported that the teenager died after being shot in the chest and abdomen and the two women were reported killed in drone strikes.
The victim in the Nur Shams camp was identified as Mahmoud Muhammad Khaled Amar, who was shot by Israeli soldiers and later found dead on the ground in the camp’s Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque neighbourhood, Wafa also reports.
Several people were also injured in Nur Shams following an Israeli drone strike, the news agency said.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it killed one Palestinian in a “counterterrorism” operation in Tulkarem, while its forces arrested 18 other people and confiscated dozens of weapons.
The Israeli military confirmed later that an Israeli aircraft had carried out a strike on the Nur Shams refugee camp.
An improvised explosive device planted by Palestinian fighters and detonated during the Israeli raid on Tulkarem hit a vehicle in which the commander of Israel’s Menashe Brigade, Colonel Ayub Kayuf, was travelling, causing him injuries and requiring medical evacuation, the Israeli military said early on Wednesday.
Israeli military raids and more shootings of Palestinians were reported across the occupied West Bank late on Tuesday and into Wednesday morning.
Wafa reported that two Palestinian men and a 15-year-old were shot and injured during an Israeli raid on the town of Beit Fruik, located east of Nablus.
Four young Palestinian men were also shot and injured in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, when Israeli troops at a checkpoint opened fire on the vehicle in which they were travelling, Wafa reports. One of the four was in critical condition, the news agency said.
Another Palestinian man was stopped by Israeli forces in the Old City of Hebron and searched. After being released, he was then shot in the thigh by troops without reason, Wafa reports.
Israeli military bulldozers also demolished infrastructure during Tuesday’s raid on Tulkarem, including homes, shops, part of the walls of as-Salam Mosque, and part of the camp’s water network, the news agency said.
Raids by Israeli forces on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank have increased in intensity and violence since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on southern Israel.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported last week that 968 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank between January 2023 and November 2024.
Of those killed, 210 were Palestinian children, OCHA reported.
