Israel launches major military operation in West Bank
(VOVWORLD) - Israeli forces hit the city of Jenin with drone strikes during an overnight operation on Monday that included hundreds of troops and set off a gunbattle lasting into the day, killing at least seven people in a major escalation of West Bank violence.
 Smoke rises during an Israeli military raid of the militant stronghold of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, July 3, 2023. (Photo: AFP/ VNA) |
With drones clearly audible overhead and the sounds of gunfire and explosives heard across the city hours after the strikes, the Jenin Brigades, a unit made up of militant groups based in the city's crowded refugee camp, said it was engaging the Israeli forces and shot down one of the unmanned aircraft.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed at least seven people had been killed and 27 wounded in Jenin, while another man was killed in the city of Ramallah.
Since January, 24 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians, and more than 175 Palestinians, including children and women, were killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures.