Israeli troops kill 5 Palestinian fighters inside West Bank mosque
Adds details throughout
Israeli troops kill five militants in a West Bank mosque
Operation is ongoing and began early on Wednesday
Israeli troops raid Tulkarm, Jenin and the Jordan Valley
West Bank clashes have escalated since beginning of Gaza war
By Maytaal Angel and Ali Sawafta
JERUSALEM/JENIN, West Bank Aug 29 (Reuters) -The Israeli military said on Thursday its troops killed five Palestinian fighters who were hiding inside a mosque in the West Bank city of Tulkarm, in one of the largest assaults on the occupied territory for months.
The operation, which a Reuters witness said has yet to conclude, began in the early hours of Wednesday with hundreds of Israeli troops backed by helicopters, drones and armoured personnel carriers raiding the flashpoint cities of Tulkarm, Jenin and areas in the Jordan Valley.
There was also a complete network outage at Jawwal, one of the two main telecommunications companies in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, according to the Reuters witness.
Palestinian health authorities said at least 12 Palestinians were killed in Wednesday's operations.
In Jenin on Thursday, bulldozers edged along empty streets as the sound of drones pierced the sky, while Israeli troops remained stationed in front of the city's main hospital, searching ambulances.
The military on Wednesday blocked off access to the hospital with earth mounds and was checking ambulances entering to prevent fighters from seeking refuge there.
The armed wings of the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah factions said in separate statements on Wednesday their gunmen were detonating bombs against Israeli military vehicles in Jenin, Tulkarm and Far'a, a town in the Jordan Valley.
Israel said one of the five fighters killed in the Tulkarm mosque was Muhhamad Jabber, known as "Abu Shujaa", the head of a network of fighters in the Nur Shams refugee camp next to the city.
Clashes in the West Bank have escalated since Israel's war with Hamas militants began in Gaza nearly 11 months ago.
ESCALATING CLASHES
Israel says Iran provides weapons and support to militant factions there and has stepped up West Bank operations, while Jewish settlers have launched frequent vigilante-style attacks on Palestinian communities.
Referring to the latest West Bank assault, Israel's foreign minister Israel Katz said in a post on X overnight: "This is a war in every sense, and we must win it."
He accused Iran of working to destabilize Jordan and establish an eastern front against Israel, like it has done in Gaza and in Lebanon, where Israel has been trading almost daily fire with militants from the Iranian proxy group Hezbollah.
To address the threat of an eastern front, Katz said Israel would have to use "all necessary means, including, in cases of intense combat, allowing the population to temporarily evacuate from one neighbourhood to another to prevent civilian harm".
In nearby Gaza, evacuation orders have displaced nearly all of the enclave's 2.3 million people multiple times, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease.
The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian violence began on Oct. 7 after Hamas militants stormed from Gaza into southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel's Gaza campaign has since demolished swathes of the enclave, and killed more than 40,500 people, Palestinian health officials say.
Internationally mediated talks to end the conflict continue.
Since the Gaza war began, thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in West Bank and East Jerusalem raids and more than 660 - fighters and civilians - have been killed, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
At least 30 Israelis have been killed in attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the period, according to Israeli tallies.
Reporting by Maytaal Angel and Ali Sawafta; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Sharon Singleton
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
