TEL AVIV (AP) – Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank and unrest in the Gaza Strip have killed six Palestinians, Palestinian health officials said yesterday, the latest spike in a wave of violence that has roiled the region for more than a year. At least three of those killed were claimed as militant fighters.
The death toll from the most recent flare-up stood at four late on Tuesday.
But yesterday the Palestinian Health Ministry raised it, saying an Israeli raid into the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank killed four people and wounded some 30 others, while a raid in a separate refugee camp killed another Palestinian.
A sixth Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in unrest in the Gaza Strip, officials said.
The deadly violence between Israel and the Palestinians over the last year and a half has surged to levels unseen in the West Bank in some two decades. Israel has stepped up its raids on Palestinian areas and Palestinian attacks against Israelis have been mounting.
Tensions also appear to be spreading to Gaza.
The Israeli military said that troops opened fire toward a Palestinian who was throwing explosives at them while they were on an overnight arrest raid in the refugee camp of Aqabat Jabr.
The camp, near the Palestinian city of Jericho, has emerged as one of the focal points of Israel’s raids.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces killed 19-year-old Dhargham al-Akhras in the raid.
The bloodshed in the Jenin camp hours earlier was the latest in that stronghold of Palestinian militants where the Israeli military often carries out deadly raids.
In July, Israel launched its most intense operation in the West Bank in nearly two decades, leaving widespread destruction in the camp.
