Israeli forces are believed responsible for killing five Palestinians and injuring nearly 100 others during a raid on the West Bank city of Jenin.
Mourners had to lay their loved ones to rest a few hours after Israeli soldiers used helicopter gunships during a raid on a Jenin refugee camp. The attacks, which resulted in the fiercest clashes in the last few years, started early Monday after Israeli forces stormed the camp, firing off live ammunition, stun grenades, and toxic gas.
Israeli Forces Kill Five Palestinians Amid West Bank Raid
Furthermore, combat helicopters were in the area for the first time in decades after ground troops conducted hours-long fighting. One of the five Palestinian fatalities was found to be a child.
In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the victims as 15-year-old Ahmed Saqr, 21-year-old Khaled Darwish, 21-year-old Qassam Sariya, 19-year-old Qassam Faisal Abu Sirriya, and Ahmed Daraghmeh.
Authorities also reported that at least 22 injured Palestinians were believed to be in critical condition. Funerals were later underway at the camp cemetery, where relatives and friends came to pay their respects and show solidarity to the bereaved families, as per Aljazeera.
One of the media outlet's reporters, Nida Ibrahim, said that Israeli military forces were seen withdrawing from the capt after a few hours of fighting. She added that some people in the camp later recited prayers while others soaked in their sadness and grief.
Ibrahim said they have been coming to the cemetery for the past year and noted that there is almost no space for more Palestinians to be buried. Journalists on the ground said that Israeli soldiers shot at several of their colleagues during the assault.
Furthermore, the Israeli military troops targeted four ambulances in Jenin, said media and information officer at the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Nibal Farsakh. He added that the soldiers directly targeted the vehicle using live ammunition that caused material damage to the structure and the ambulance's glass.
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An Unusually Intense Battle
The attack was the first time since the Second Intifada that Israeli helicopters were seen open firing while evacuating wounded troops. According to CNN, the Second Intifada was a major Palestinian uprising that ended in 2005.
A locally based militant group, the Jenin Brigade, said that its fighters could force an Israeli helicopter away by shooting at it. The group added that it had managed to immobile the Israeli troops' vehicles by shooting at them and ambushing them.
On top of the Palestinian fatalities and injuries, eight of Israel's security forces were wounded amid the fighting. A spokesman for the Israeli military, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, said that the Monday battle in and around the West Bank city of Jenin was intense and rare.
The military said that at least one powerful explosive device that turned off several Israeli armored vehicles complicated the incident that the Israeli side said started as an arrest raid, said the New York Times.
