Israeli soldiers killed in a shot attack as the West Bank’s operation continues

Israel’s army says that two soldiers have been killed in a shot in the occupied West Bank, since their forces continue an important operation against the Palestinian armed groups in the north of the territory.

Eight other soldiers were injured when a Palestinian armed man opened fire at a control point in the village of Tayasir, 2 km (1.2 miles) north of Tubas, according to a military statement. The attacker was shot dead, he said.

Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the attack as an answer to the Israeli operation in Tubas, Jenin and Tulkarm, but none said they were behind him.

Meanwhile, a UN official warned that the situation in Jenin’s refugee camp was heading in a “catastrophic direction.”

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, announced the beginning of a large -scale operation to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin on January 21, three days after El Alto El Fuego entered into force in the Gaza Strip. The operation expanded to Tulkarm and Tubas last week.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says that Israeli forces have killed 70 Palestinians in the West Bank, including the occupied East Jerusalem, since the beginning of the year.

The figure includes the 25 dead informed in the Jenin area and 13 in the areas of Tubas and Tulkarm in the last two weeks.

Israel’s Defense Forces (FDI) have said that he killed about 55 “terrorists” and arrested 380 people sought in the West Bank in January.

The Israeli media reported that the Palestinian who made Tuesday’s shot in Tayasir was able to sneak into a military post next to the control point before opening fire with a Rifle M16 in soldiers parked there.

The soldiers shot and a shooting lasted several minutes before the attacker was killed, they said.

The IDF appointed the two soldiers who were killed as Sergeant Maj Offer Yung, 39, and Sergeant Maj Avraham Friedman, 43.

Two of the eight wounded soldiers were in a serious condition in the hospital, he said.

The head of the Central Command of the FDI, Maj Gen Avi Bluth, said that the attack was “a demonstration of the need for the anti -terrorism operation in (West Bank).”

“We are determined to continue the operation, expand it as necessary and achieve victory,” he added.

Hamas praised what he described as the “heroic and qualitative operation carried out by a Palestinian resistance fighter” in Tayasir, saying that he showed “the crimes of the occupation and its aggression against northern Bank will not be imputed.”

On Monday, the spokesman of the president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas, claimed that the Israeli operation was part of a broader effort intended to “displace citizens and ethnic cleaning.”

Speaking to journalists in Geneva on Tuesday, Juliette Touma, of the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), warned about the deterioration of the situation in Jenin Refugee Camp.

Hundreds of Israeli security forces backed by helicopters, drones and armored excavators have been carrying out raids in the camp, seen for a long time as a strength of armed groups.

“Large parts of the camp were completely destroyed in a series of detonations by Israeli forces. It is estimated that 100 houses were destroyed or damaged very damaged,” Touma said.

“This detonation that happened on Sunday was when children were supposed to return to school,” he added.

The IDF said on Sunday that it had “dismantled” 23 structures where the explosive laboratories, weapons, observation positions and other infrastructure belonging to armed groups were located.

Mrs. Touma also said that UNRWA, who has not been able to provide services in the camp since the beginning of December, had not received a previous warning from the explosions of the Israeli authorities.

On Thursday, two laws approved by the Parliament of Israel last year, which prohibits the activity of Unrwa in the Israeli soil and prohibits contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA employees entered into force. Israeli officials accuse Unrwa of being complicit in Hamas, an accusation that the agency denies.

Mrs. Touma said that the Israeli government “had not communicated to Unrwa how they intend to implement” the laws, and that UNRWA’s teams were currently “remaining and delivering.”