TULKARM: Israeli occupation forces killed five Palestinians over the last few hours in an ongoing large-scale military offensive in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to local and medical sources. The ongoing Israeli raid also resulted in the injury of others, including some seriously.
The sources reported that at least two of the victims were killed in a drone strike which targeted them while they were in Nour Shams refugee camp in the city. The strike also left several others wounded.
Simultaneously, the Israeli occupation forces initiated widespread arrests, infrastructure destruction, and declared the camp a closed military zone as large-scale forces stormed the city and the refugee camp from multiple directions.
WAFA correspondent reported the murder of Jihad Aarneh, 25, Mahmoud Samer Jaber, 22, Ghayth Yasser Shahada, 25, Waleed Asa’ad Zahra, 22, and Asa’ad As’ad Zahra, 33, as a result of the Israeli airstrike, reportedly carried out by an unmanned drone. The two were left bleeding, as
he occupation forces prevented ambulance access to the camp.
Additionally, several individuals sustained injuries, some in critical condition, due to the Israeli drone strikes that targeted multiple locations within the camp.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that the Israeli forces obstructed emergency medical teams from entering Nour Shams camp to reach a critically injured person with a head injury, despite coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Furthermore, a volunteer paramedic was arrested by Israeli forces from inside an ambulance, the sources added.
Israeli drones also targeted locations in the Manshiya neighborhood of Nour Shams camp, although the precise nature of the targeted areas was not ascertainable, according to our correspondent.
During the Israeli offensive, forces conducted extensive house raids, leading to the arrest of several individuals, including Hani Sawan, 27, a paramedic, who was arrested from the ambulance he was present in at the entrance of Nour
Shams refugee camp.
Earlier in the night, Israeli occupation forces stormed Tulkarm, imposing a strict siege on Nour Shams camp east of the city. Military vehicles and bulldozers were deployed on Nablus Street and the entrance to the Ikataba suburb in the vicinity of the camp. Intense gunfire and explosions were reported in various neighborhoods during the incursion.
Israeli snipers were positioned on the rooftops of several buildings, as the Israeli military imposed closures and restrictions on movement in the invaded areas.
Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA