33 Palestinians killed in Israeli week-long operations in West Bank

RAMALLAH: Israel’s military operations across the West Bank, which began a week ago, have killed 33 Palestinians and wounded about 140 others, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The fatalities include 19 Palestinians in Jenin, four in Tubas, and seven in Tulkarm, all located in the northern West Bank, as well as three others in Hebron in the south, the Ramallah-based Ministry said on Wednesday in a statement.

Israeli forces continued their operation against the city of Jenin and its camp for the eighth consecutive day on Wednesday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

WAFA said the operation has caused widespread destruction of infrastructure, including water and electricity networks, as well as damage to civilian property, Xinhua news agency reported.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, said on Tuesday that Jenin had been ravaged by violence and destruction.

In a post on the social media platform X, Lazzarini called for the “immediate protection of civilians across the West Bank, including in the north,” and demanded that both the Israeli army and Palestinian armed groups “uphold the protection of civilians and provide access to assistance”.

Since August 28, Israel has been conducting a large-scale raid across the northern West Bank, stating that the operation aims to arrest wanted persons and prevent future attacks against Israel.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 680 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks across the West Bank since the onset of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip last October.

The Israeli army last week launched its largest military operation in the northern West Bank in two decades, causing massive destruction in the area.

Jenin Mayor Nidal al-Obaidi on Wednesday declared the northern West Bank city a “disaster area” as the Israeli army continued its operations there.

“The Israeli army is continuing to destroy the infrastructure in Jenin and its camp,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank as Israel pressed ahead with its brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October 7 last year.

At least 685 people have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19 that declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (IANS)