A Palestinian bread seller stands by his cart while an Israeli army vehicle drives by at the entrance of the Jenin refugee camp, in Jenin, on Dec. 13, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas. (Credit: Marco Longari/AFP)
An Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank that lasted more than a day left at least seven Palestinians dead, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday, raising an earlier toll.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its medics treated multiple others wounded in the military raid on Jenin, including a 27-year-old woman shot in the chest in the city's refugee camp.
The Israeli military said forces "confiscated approximately 30 weapons, ammunition, military equipment and weapon parts," without commenting on those killed.
"The forces dismantled six explosives laboratories, underground tunnel shafts, four observation command centers and explosive devices," a statement said.
Four soldiers were wounded by friendly fire or during "controlled explosions," the military added.
On Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry said six people had been killed by Israeli forces in the raid.
On Wednesday, it raised the death toll to seven, adding that a sick 13-year-old boy also died after Israeli forces prevented him from reaching hospital.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and in recent months troops have repeatedly carried out deadly raids on Jenin, with the casualties including militants and children.
In a separate incident, an AFP journalist witnessed a Palestinian medic urge Israeli soldiers to let an ambulance crew evacuate a man with multiple gunshot wounds.
"Recently, we can't evacuate any wounded without an ID number, ID copy, or ID card," paramedic Khalid al-Ahmad told journalists.
Pleas for help
The Red Crescent said on Wednesday the situation in Jenin camp was deteriorating, with "dozens of pleas and appeals to [help] medical cases" while ambulance crews were unable to reach them.
"Dozens of citizens are suffering from acute shortages of baby milk and bread, as soldiers are occupying their homes and preventing them from leaving," the medical organisation said before troops withdrew.
Jenin camp is home to more than 23,000 people, according to the United Nations, and militants also have a strong presence there.
The militant group Hamas — which Israel is battling in the Gaza Strip — called the Jenin raid a "desperate attempt to extinguish the flame of resistance".
AFP journalists saw residents surround pools of blood left on the ground in Jenin and children inspect a house scorched in the raid.
Around 280 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the West Bank since the war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, health officials say.
Over the same period, more than 18,600 people have been killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The war broke out with an attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel, in which Israeli officials say around 1,200 people were killed.
Most of those killed in both Israel and the Palestinian territories have been civilians.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its medics treated multiple others wounded in the military raid on Jenin, including a 27-year-old woman shot in the chest in the...