Five Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed by Israeli forces during a raid into Jenin refugee camp, according to Palestinian health officials. The raid occurred as Palestinian militants targeted Israeli troop carriers with explosives, prompting an Israeli helicopter to fire missiles. The incident signifies a significant escalation of violence, as frequent raids in the occupied West Bank continue.
The Israeli army has reported that several vehicles remain trapped in the area due to ongoing gunfire, leading to a “logistical operation under fire” to extract them. Seven Israeli soldiers and border police officers have been wounded, with three in moderate condition, according to the army.
This marks the first time in years, possibly since the second Palestinian Intifada two decades ago, that the Israeli military has utilized attack helicopters in the West Bank. Residents in Jenin described the situation as a “real war,” with Apache helicopters flying overhead. Local media reported that a field was bombed, causing injuries and water outages in parts of the Jenin camp.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the raid as “Israeli aggression,” demanding an immediate halt to the escalation in Jenin. Over the past 18 months, Israel has intensified its military operations in Palestinian cities in the occupied West Bank, conducting search and arrest raids while demolishing homes. This has occurred alongside a surge in Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis, resulting in heightened casualties on both sides.
The raid began when undercover Israeli troops entered a neighborhood on the outskirts of Jenin’s crowded urban refugee camp, targeting the family home of a militant incarcerated by Israel. Witnesses reported masked soldiers storming the neighbor’s house, followed by explosions and heavy gunfire. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described a “massive exchange of fire” between its forces and Palestinian gunmen.
Videos captured an explosion hitting an armored troop transport as gunfire erupted. An Israeli military spokesperson stated that a Panther troop carrier was struck by a powerful improvised explosive device (IED), prompting an Apache helicopter to fire on an open area to repel the gunmen while soldiers were extracted from the vehicle. The IDF is now deploying heavy machinery to extract the stuck vehicles while the exchange of fire with militants continues.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that five people were killed in the raid, including three men in their 20s and a 15-year-old boy named Ahmed Yousef Saqr. More than 90 Palestinians were wounded, including a 15-year-old girl hit by a bullet that penetrated her home’s wall. A Palestinian photojournalist covering the raid, Hazem Imad Nasser, was also injured and undergoing surgery after being shot in the side.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society accused the Israeli army of impeding the movement of ambulances and preventing medical staff from fulfilling their duties. The raid underscores the failure of US-led attempts to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank, as Israeli military operations intensify and the Palestinian Authority struggles to regain control from a new generation of militants.
Palestinian officials called for decisive actions in response to the Israeli aggression, while an official from the militant group Islamic Jihad warned that Israel’s use of aircraft would prompt their fighters to employ new tactics. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant vowed to strike terrorists wherever they may be and denied them safe havens in Jenin, Nablus, or Gaza.