Israeli forces killed three people, including a 16-year-old Palestinian girl, in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The girl, identified as Lujain Osama Musleh, was killed in the town of Kafr Dan, near Jenin, where Israeli troops have been operating for days and demolished a house on the same day. The military provided no immediate details of the incident but stated they are investigating the report. Two Palestinians were also killed in the city of Tulkarm, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad reported that fighters exchanged fire with Israeli forces in Jenin and Tulkarm, areas that have experienced repeated clashes between Israeli troops and armed Palestinian fighters in recent months. With these latest fatalities, at least 34 Palestinians have been killed during the operation. One Israeli soldier was killed in Jenin, while in a separate incident, three police officers were killed by a gunman near Hebron in the southern West Bank. Hundreds of Israeli troops, supported by helicopters and drones, have been operating in Jenin, Tulkarm, and other parts of the West Bank for the past week, in an operation the military claims is aimed at combating Iranian-backed militant groups. The operation has inflicted severe damage to infrastructure, with armored bulldozers tearing up city streets in search of roadside bombs and destroying or severely damaging houses and other buildings. As the operation continues, aid workers have started to warn that residents are running low on food and water. Paramedic officer Murad Khamayseh from Jenin, who works with the disaster unit in the Palestinian Red Crescent, said his unit has been distributing bread, water, milk, medical supplies, and diapers.
The recent escalation of violence in the West Bank follows a surge in fighting since the beginning of the Gaza war in October. During this period, more than 20 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, as well as a similar number by missiles fired from southern Lebanon, where Israel has been engaged in exchanges of fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah for months.
