A Palestinian man has succumbed to wounds he sustained on Monday when Israeli military forces carried out a raid in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The victim was identified as 48-year-old Amjad Aref al-Ja’as, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported, citing medical sources at Rafidia Surgical Hospital in Nablus.
🎥 شاهد| لحظة إصابة الشهيد أمجد أبو جعص متأثرًا برصاص الاحتلال خلال العدوان على #جنين يوم أمس. pic.twitter.com/IKM61cSbpa
— وكالة سند للأنباء - Snd News Agency (@Snd_pal) June 20, 2023
The latest death brings the number of Palestinians killed as a result of the large-scale Israeli military incursion into Jenin to six.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the victims as Ahmed Saqr, 15, Khaled Darwish, 21, Qassam Sariya, 19, Qassam Faisal Abu Sirriya, 29, and Ahmed Daraghmeh.
At least 22 injured Palestinians are said to be in critical condition.
Four ambulances were targeted by Israeli forces in Jenin, according to Nibal Farsakh, media and information officer at the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS).
They were “directly targeted with live ammunition, causing material damage to the structure and the glass of the ambulances themselves,” Farsakh said.
Farsakh added that medical teams were first denied access and eventually arrived late to treat those who were injured at the scene. Some were “in a very severe condition” and needed urgent medical assistance.
The Israeli military said in a statement that the raid was to arrest two suspects and that its soldiers came under fire, which resulted in a “massive exchange of fire.”
It confirmed seven of its soldiers were wounded during the attack.
Video footage verified by the Sanad news agency showed an Israeli helicopter launching a rocket at the camp and surveillance aircraft hovering above. Helicopter gunships were used for the first time in decades in the West Bank.
عاجل| طائرة إسرائيلية تطلق صاروخاً صوب مخيم جنين. pic.twitter.com/2WeaXl7yft
— وكالة سند للأنباء - Snd News Agency (@Snd_pal) June 19, 2023
Mohammed Kamanji, a lawyer and field researcher with the Independent Commission for Human Rights, said the latest raid was accompanied by “drones and Apache helicopters”, adding that it was the “largest” raid in many years.
Israeli forces are “perpetrating gross violations against not only the paramedics but also the journalists,” he said.
According to the Quds News Network, Hazem Nasser, a Palestinian photojournalist was shot and injured amid the occupation forces’ raid on the flashpoint city on Monday.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad condemned the Israeli operation as a “heinous crime” while Hamas announced its support for resistance fighters in Jenin.
Since the start of 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 160 Palestinians, including 26 children. The death toll includes 36 Palestinians, who lost their lives during a four-day Israeli army onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip between May 9 and 13.