RAMALLAH (Reuters) – An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle near the West Bank town of Qabatiya killed two people, the Palestinian health ministry said on Friday, the fourth day of a large-scale Israeli operation in the nearby city of Jenin launched after the truce in Gaza.
The Israeli military said an air strike had hit a vehicle with what it said was a “terrorist cell” inside but gave no further details.
The military has been carrying out a major operation in Jenin aiming to crack down on Palestinian militant groups it says are backed by Iran, launched just two days after a ceasefire took effect in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
At least 12 Palestinians have been killed in the operation, Palestinian health officials said, including two claimed by the armed wing of Hamas. The Israeli military said it had also arrested 20 wanted suspects and seized weapons.
Armoured bulldozers and diggers have demolished houses and dug up roads in the crowded refugee camp adjacent to Jenin, a major centre of armed militant groups, where thousands of people have left their homes.
Thameen Al-Kheetan, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said he was deeply concerned about the use of unlawful lethal force and said the Jenin operation raised serious concerns about unnecessary or disproportionate force.
Fighting in Gaza has halted for the start of a six-week first phase of a ceasefire backed by the United States.
Israeli officials say the operation in Jenin is part of a multifront war against an axis of Iranian-backed groups in the West Bank, southern Lebanon and Yemen.
(This story has been corrected to say U.N. High Commission spokesperson, not High Commissioner, in paragraph 6)
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Peter Graff)
Comments