The Israeli army said it killed five Palestinian “terrorists” on Saturday near Tulkarem, in the north of the occupied West Bank, after twelve hours of siege of a village during which an Israeli soldier was injured.
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In the village of Deir al-Ghusun, an AFP photographer was able to see a large Israeli force blocking the streets around the targeted building and a bulldozer razing it. At least one body was pulled from the rubble and taken away by Israeli forces.
During an “operation aimed at neutralizing a terrorist cell,” Israeli forces “surrounded a building,” the army said in a statement. “After “coming under fire (…), the security forces responded”, in particular with rockets.
“An army drone targeted and hit the building twice, while engineering units worked to destroy it,” the Israeli army continues. “The confrontation ended with the elimination of five terrorists and the seizure of military equipment and weapons.”
An Israeli soldier was injured during this operation, the same Source added.
The West Bank, territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has been the scene of an outbreak of violence for two years, further exacerbated by the deadly attack carried out on October 7 from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in southern Israel. This attack triggered an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
At least 496 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. During the same period, at least 19 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel, according to Israel’s domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet.
