Israeli troops besiege West Bank hospitals, launch drone strike on Jenin refugee camp
During an hours-long raid on Jenin, the invading forces destroyed infrastructure and killed at least five Palestinians
Israeli troops concluded a brutal raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on 17 November, killing at least five, injuring over a dozen, and laying siege to several hospitals in the city.
The raid began on Thursday evening and extended into the following day. Dozens of military vehicles stormed the city as troops invaded several homes and made arrests.
“Dozens of armored vehicles turned up, with bulldozers as well, damaging cars, damaging the roads,” said Al-Jazeera correspondent Sara Khairat.
Heavy clashes erupted between the army and resistance fighters.
In a statement around midnight, the Jenin branch of Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced that fighters were “engaged in heroic armed clashes alongside all resistance factions in the camp, targeting the occupation army with heavy barrages of bullets and explosive devices.”
Fighters from the Jenin Brigade of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s (PIJ) Quds Brigades were also present.
Israeli forces launched a drone strike on the Jenin refugee camp during the early hours of 17 November, killing at least two and injuring several.
Among those killed during the Israeli raid were several resistance fighters and commanders.
As clashes raged on Friday morning, Israeli troops destroyed infrastructure near the entrance of Jenin’s refugee camp.
The army also besieged Ibn Sina Hospital and surrounded several other hospitals in the city.
According to Israel’s military, resistance fighters used ambulances to escape to Ibn Sina Hospital “to hide there.” The army said it detained one fighter near the hospital.
“Israeli forces turned up at Ibn Sina Hospital, one of the biggest in the occupied West Bank. They turned up in a raid where they asked medical staff to put their hands up and evacuate the hospital. Several doctors from the hospital refused to comply and evacuate; two paramedics were arrested.” Khairat said.
“It is important to note that this happened in Jenin refugee camp where clashes have been intense almost daily … But the nature of this particular raid is quite incredible, really. Not just it being a hospital but the way the Israeli forces are coming in,” she added.
At least four other hospitals in Jenin were surrounded, Al-Jazeera reported. Israeli troops also surrounded the Jenin Government Hospital.
“Israeli occupation army deployed in the vicinity of the Jenin Government Hospital, launching a barrage of toxic tear gas canisters. The indiscriminate use of chemical agents in the vicinity of the hospital resulted in … several civilians suffering gas inhalation,” Palestinian news agency WAFA wrote.
Israeli troops eventually withdrew from Jenin camp after several hours of intense fighting.
The attacks come as Israel is waging a war against hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The enclave's largest medical complex, Al-Shifa Hospital, this week was utterly put out of commission and transformed into what human rights groups call “a torture and detention center.”