9 Palestinians killed as gunmen conflict with IDF troopers in Jenin

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9 Palestinians had been killed, amongst them an aged girl, and several other had been wounded throughout fierce clashes between Israeli troops and gunmen within the northern West Financial institution metropolis of Jenin on Thursday morning, Palestinian well being officers mentioned.

In an announcement, the Israel Protection Forces mentioned troops entered the Jenin refugee camp to foil imminent assault plans by a neighborhood wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

“This squad was a ticking time bomb. If we didn’t act, they might have,” a senior IDF officer informed reporters.

“Throughout an try to arrest them, the needed males opened hearth and had been killed in an change of fireside with our forces,” the IDF mentioned. Three members of the PIJ cell had been killed and a fourth was arrested, in accordance with the navy.

“The needed males, PIJ operatives, have been concerned in latest in depth terror exercise, and are suspected of finishing up a number of taking pictures assaults in opposition to IDF forces, and planning different important assaults,” it mentioned.

The navy mentioned the raid in opposition to the cell’s hideout condo within the camp was launched following “correct intelligence” given to the military by the Shin Guess safety company.

Troops used shoulder-launched missiles and different explosives in opposition to the hideout, in a tactic often known as “strain cooker,” to attempt to flush out the needed males, the officer mentioned.

Individuals collect round a constructing broken and burned by Israeli troops throughout a raid on the West Financial institution’s Jenin refugee camp, on January 26, 2023. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

In the course of the raid, different Palestinian gunmen opened hearth at Israeli troops, who returned hearth, hitting a few of them, the navy added.

No Israeli troopers had been harm within the clashes, the IDF mentioned.

The native wing of PIJ mentioned its members opened hearth on the Israeli troops and detonated explosive gadgets within the space. A number of IDF jeeps had been broken by the explosives and required a tow truck to tug them out, the officer mentioned.

Palestinian gunmen and civilians collect round an ambulance following a raid by Israeli troops on the West Financial institution’s Jenin refugee camp, on January 26, 2023. (JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

The Palestinian Authority Well being Ministry mentioned in an announcement that 9 Palestinians had been killed, with 20 extra wounded, together with 4 listed in crucial situation.

The clashes on Thursday morning marked possible the deadliest Israeli raid within the West Financial institution in years.

The fatalities included a lady, recognized as Magda Obaid, 60, the ministry mentioned.

The IDF was probing her loss of life, a navy supply mentioned.

A number of the slain males had been named, together with 24-year-old Saeb Essam Mahmoud Azriqi, 26-year-old Izzidin Yassin Salahat, Abdullah Marwan al-Ghoul, and Moatassem Abu al-Hassan.

Salahat was recognized by Palestinian media as a member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a terror group loosely affiliated with the PA’s ruling Fatah occasion, in addition to a member of the PA safety providers.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh mentioned Israel was “finishing up a bloodbath in Jenin amid worldwide silence.”

Abbas later introduced three days of mourning over the deaths of the 9 Palestinians. In an announcement carried by Palestinian media, Abbas ordered that flags be set at half-staff to mourn “the souls of the martyrs within the occupation bloodbath within the Jenin refugee camp.”

Explosions and gunfire may very well be heard in footage revealed by Palestinian media retailers. One other clip purported to point out Palestinian gunmen taking pictures down a small IDF surveillance drone.

Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Rubsaid that residents had been dwelling in a “actual state of struggle.”

“The Israeli military is destroying all the pieces and taking pictures at all the pieces that strikes,” he informed AFP.

PA Well being Minister Mai al-Kaila mentioned paramedics had been struggling to succeed in the wounded amid the combating.

Al-Kaila additionally accused the navy of firing tear gasoline on the pediatric ward of a hospital, inflicting kids to choke. Video from the hospital confirmed ladies carrying kids out of hospital rooms and into the hall. The navy mentioned tear gasoline had possible wafted into the hospital from the clashes close by.

Palestinians run for canopy throughout clashes with Israeli forces within the West Financial institution metropolis of Jenin, on January 26, 2023 (Zain Jaafar / AFP)

The senior IDF officer, talking to reporters mentioned the raid lasted some three hours.

The officer mentioned the IDF was “prepared and ready for any state of affairs,” together with attainable rocket hearth from the Gaza Strip in response to the lethal clashes. Over the previous yr, the PIJ has launched rockets at Israel in response to members being killed or arrested within the West Financial institution.

The officer mentioned the navy was ready for an escalation in different areas as effectively, together with the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Previous Metropolis.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to carry an evaluation later within the day on the incident, with Overseas Minister Eli Cohen filling in for Protection Minister Yoav Gallant, who reportedly headed to the US on Wednesday for a brief private journey.

Palestinians hurl rocks at an Israeli military bulldozer, throughout clashes within the West Financial institution metropolis of Jenin, on January 26, 2023. (Zain Jaafar / AFP)

Tensions have just lately soared within the West Financial institution because the IDF presses on with an anti-terror offensive largely centered on the northern West Financial institution to cope with a collection of assaults which have left 31 individuals in Israel lifeless in 2022.

Jenin is extensively seen as a hotbed of terrorist exercise, and has been the main target of lots of the raids.

The IDF’s operation has netted greater than 2,500 arrests in near-nightly raids. It additionally left 171 Palestinians lifeless in 2022, and, as of Thursday, one other 29 because the starting of the yr, a lot of them whereas finishing up assaults or throughout clashes with safety forces, although some had been uninvolved civilians.

Companies contributed to this report.

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