The Israeli military killed at least eight Palestinians, including one child, in the occupied West Bank in a period of 24 hours, said the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Sunday, 26 November.
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that five Palestinians were killed in the city of Jenin, while three others were killed in separate areas of the West Bank since the morning of 25 November morning. One of those killed, in al-Bireh in the central West Bank, was a minor.
During the raid, 20 suspects were taken into custody, including a Palestinian who was wanted for allegedly taking part in a deadly ambush in the West Bank in August, the Israeli military said. It claimed that those it killed were militants.
Only one of the men, identified as 33-year-old Asaad al-Damj, was immediately associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group; the other men were not.
According to the Palestinian WAFA agency, the Ibn Sina Hospital, the local branch of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), and the Jenin Public Hospital were all under siege by the Israeli military during the raid.
2023 was already the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank prior to the Hamas attack on 7 October, which witnessed a spike in killings of Palestinian children.
THE CONFLICT SO FAR
After a surprise attack conducted on 7 October by Hamas on a number of southern Israeli towns, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people and more than 220 being taken hostage by Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory bombing campaign against what it describes as ‘terrorist targets’ in the Gaza Strip.
At least 14,500 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip — including at least 5,500 children — and over 32,000 others injured. Meanwhile, at least 225 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and more than 2,700 injured. The death toll is no longer being regularly updated due to the collapse of the enclave’s health system.
Israel and Hamas reached an agreement on 22 November, announcing a four-day cessation of hostilities to facilitate the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza, 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, and the entry of humanitarian aid. The truce began on 24 November.
During an event in support of Palestine at Cairo International Stadium, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed that the forced relocation of Palestinians is a “red line” for Egypt, and will not be accepted.
The priority of the Egyptian government since the beginning of the conflict has been deescalation and the securing of a path for aid to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing.
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