IOF Murder 2 Palestinians, Injure 7 During West Bank Raid

By Staff, Agencies

The “Israeli” Occupation Forces [IOF] have fatally shot two Palestinian people and injured seven others in a raid on the Balata refugee camp near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, amid the regime’s relentless aggression against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Information Center said on Saturday that the casualties took place after IOF troops stormed the Balata refugee camp and fired live ammunition on Palestinian residents inside a house.

Palestinian media reported that “undercover” special forces, accompanied by IOF troops, surrounded the house in the al-Jamasin neighborhood in the center of the camp and a number of snipers climbed the roofs of the houses, which led to the outbreak of confrontations.

The IOF earlier closed the entrances to the camp and later engaged in violence, including heavy firing of bullets and tear gas canisters.

Meanwhile, “Israeli” fighter jets launched a fresh round of air strikes on several locations in the Gaza Strip in the wee hours of Saturday, the fifth consecutive day of “Israeli” air strikes against the besieged strip.

Palestine’s official Wafa news agency said the “Israeli” planes targeted with missiles a five-story building belonging to the family of Baha Abu Atta, the former commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement who was assassinated in a 2019 operation, in the Shujaiya neighborhood east of Gaza and another house in the Yarmouk area in the central Gaza City.

“The house in the Yarmouk area of Gaza was bombed by a missile from a drone, then by two missiles from a warplane, which resulted in its complete destruction,” Wafa said.

The news agency added that the “Israeli” airstrikes on the two houses left three people, including a woman, injured and resulted in material damage to some neighboring houses as well as power outages in parts of the two targeted areas.

The occupation warplanes also bombed on Saturday an agricultural land in the vicinity of the popular Firas market in the center of Gaza City.

Moreover, the “Israeli” strikes targeted agricultural lands near the Fallujah cemetery, east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, and another land east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, without causing any injuries.

It raised the death toll from the “Israeli” onslaught on Gaza to 33, including three women and six children, while more than 150 have been wounded, some being in critical condition.

The Palestinian resistance factions in the Gaza Strip resumed rocket fire on the occupied territories on Saturday, a few hours after “Israeli” aircraft bombed targets in the coastal strip.

The bombardment set off sirens in “Sderot” and a number of “Israeli” settlements, sending “Israeli” settlers to shelters. There were no reports of casualties.

The recent “Israeli” aggression came just hours after an “Israeli” airstrike on Gaza City’s al-Nasr neighborhood left at least three Palestinians dead and 10 others injured, with reports saying a senior commander of al-Quds Brigades – the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad – was among those martyred in the attack.

The Islamic Jihad has vowed to strike targets deep inside the “Israeli” entity in response to the targeting of residential homes in Gaza.

The “Israeli” entity has been continuously bombarding the strip over the past several days, assassinating several resistance commanders in the besieged Gaza Strip.

In response, Palestinian resistance factions have launched retaliatory strikes toward “Israeli” occupied-cities and settlements. 

The “Israeli” military says so far nearly 1,000 rockets have been fired from the strip.