Israeli forces killed three young Palestinians and injured at least 10 others during a military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the West Bank in the wee hours of the Friday morning, reports said.
The latest aggression came amid growing tensions in the occupied territories fueled by a wave of incursions, arrests, and arbitrary killings by the Israeli army.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli troops stormed the eastern neighborhood of the Jenin refugee camp early on Friday and opened fire on the vehicle in which the men were traveling.
The report added that the incident triggered a gun battle with local residents, leaving at least ten people injured. They were ferried to a nearby hospital for medical treatment.
تغطية صحفية: "الشبان الثلاثة الذين اغتالهم الاحتلال فجر اليوم خلال اقتحام جنين، وهم يوسف صلاح وليث أبو سرور وبراء لحلوح". pic.twitter.com/7PHprrOZuZ
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) June 17, 2022
Palestinian medical sources identified the victims as Youssef Nasser Salah, 23, Baraa Kamal Lahlouh, 24, and Laith Salah Abu Srour, 24.
Hundreds of Palestinians marched through the refugee camp after the raid, carrying the bodies of slain men and calling for undaunted resistance until full liberation of all Palestinian territories, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East al-Quds as its capital.
The Israeli regime military has stepped up deadly raids in and around the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin, launching fiercest assaults on the local population.
Veteran Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in cold blood last month in Jenin by the marauding Israeli troops while she was covering their raid.
Hamas reaction
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, reacting to the latest Israeli raid, warned that the Tel Aviv regime “will pay for its crimes” and that Jeniin “will remain unbreakable”.
It said such murderous attacks only strengthen the resolve of Palestinians to continue their resistance against the Israeli occupation.
#شاهد| تغطية صحفية: "جانب من وداع الشبان الثلاثة الذين ارتقوا برصاص قوات الاحتلال خلال اقتحام جنين، فجر اليوم". pic.twitter.com/5Xu8sYoNC7
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) June 17, 2022
Earlier this month, Israeli military forces shot and killed a young Palestinian man and injured several others in a raid on the southern part of the West Bank.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the victim as 27-year-old Mahmoud Fayez Abu Ayhour, noting that he sustained critical wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers in the course of confrontations in the town of Halhul, situated 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) north of the flashpoint city of al-Khalil, on June 9.
The statement added that “the bullet penetrated Abu Ayhour’s abdomen, diaphragm and aorta, and all attempts by Palestinian medical staff to save his life did not succeed.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry described the killing of the 27-year-old as an Israeli "execution" and called for international protection for the Palestinians.
According to an organization representing families of Palestinians killed by Israel, the regime forces have killed 70 Palestinians in the occupied territories since the beginning of the year.
Mohammad Sbeihat, the head of the organization, says 13 children less than 18 years of age and five women are among those mowed down by the Israeli forces this year.