At least 6 Palestinians killed during Israeli West Bank raid

JENIN: The Israeli army raided a home in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, triggering a battle that killed at least six Palestinians and wounded more than two dozen others, Palestinian health officials said.

Early Wednesday, Palestinian militants launched a rocket toward Israel but it fell short and exploded inside the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. The rocket activated warning sirens in open areas in southern Israel. There were no reports of casualties.

The military said it had killed the suspected assailant behind a fatal shooting of two Israeli brothers in the northern West Bank town of Hawara last week. An Israeli police spokesperson said three Israeli forces were in fair-to-serious condition after being shot and wounded in Tuesday’s firefight in Jenin.

The Jenin brigade, a loosely organized armed group based in the Jenin refugee camp, said its militants shot and hurled explosive devices at Israeli soldiers. The troops had surrounded the suspect’s home on the outskirts of the densely populated camp, a hub of militant activity. Videos showed black smoke billowing in the distance after the army fired missiles at the besieged building.

Tuesday’s raid was the latest in a string of deadly arrest operations by the Israeli military in the northern West Bank, as violence surges to its highest levels in years. The raid raised fears of further bloodshed as Israel struggles to contain growing unrest led by young Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who are increasingly taking up arms against Israel’s open-ended occupation, now in its 56th year.