Death Toll Climbs As Israeli West Bank Raids Continue

The number of deaths has increased with a massive operation in the occupied Israeli West Bank for a second successive day even though the United Nations has warned that the actions are aggravating an already volatile situation.

The Israeli West Bank raids were initiated in the early hours of yesterday in the West Bank cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem which it said was a ‘counter-terrorism’ operation. It has also entailed mobilisation of tanks, soldiers and war planes, and the encircling of refugee camps in all the three cities to confront Palestinian militants in gun battles.

The Israel military said that 5 of the combatants were killed in Tulkarem in the last phase of the operation, and 14 militants have been killed in the Israeli West Bank raids in total. “After fire fights, the forces neutralised five terrorists who had found tactical positions inside a mosque in Tulkarem,” the military added.

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad explained the death of Muhammad Jabber or Abu Shujaa, a commander of the Nur Shams refugees camp in Tulkarem.

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The violence has led to the widespread destruction of property, especially in Tulkarem where the local governor said the raids were ‘unprecedented’ and a ‘dangerous signal’. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 12 Palestinians were killed during the first day of the operation of Israeli West Bank raids.

Some of the eye witnesses narrated that they saw Israeli troops pull out from the Al-Farra refugee camp in Tubas where several Palestinians were burnt to death. Nevertheless, fighting continued in Jenin as a drone was reported hovering above during the operation by an AFP photographer.

A fellow journalist wrote that the Israeli soldiers had remained in Tulkarem. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club reported that 45 persons had been detained since the beginning of the operation in the north of the West Bank.

Israeli West Bank Raids Raise Concerns All Over The World

This week the United Nations expressed concern on the continuous Israeli West Bank raids. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for halting such operations terming the use of airstrikes on civilian population unlawful and appalling and expressing sorrow over the loss of life, especially children. ”These dangerous developments are contributing to an already volatile situation in the occupied West Bank and further erode the Palestinian Authority,” the UN added.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas returned home yesterday from his Saudi trip to resolve the deepening conflict immediately while Jordan’s King Abdullah II has urged the parties in Gaza to cease hostilities to stop deaths.

This increased violence and Israeli West bank raids have further escalated the Gaza conflict, which started after the militants’ attack on Israel on Oct 7 that claimed the lives of 1,199 people mostly civilians as per the figures from AFP citing Israeli official statistics. Militants also captured 251 people some of which are still detained in Gaza, among them 33 who according to the Israeli military are already dead.

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Israel’s response campaign has claimed at least 40 602 lives in Gaza as the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry stated. The UN Human Rights Office has indicated that most of the victims are women and young children. The attack may have severely damaged Gaza and also led to a serious humanitarian crisis.

Nonetheless, the United Nations is still providing humanitarian assistance while it has a difficult time due to constantly taking out Israelis and military operations. “It’s just catastrophic,” said Louise Wateridge, the UNRWA spokesperson for the Palestinian refugees.

I quoted her on social media expressing that “What we’re seeing now is families, mothers, children dragging their belongings.” “Now there is practically no possibility to use any kind of vehicles for such displacement, and people simply do not know where to go.”