An Israeli tank killed two Palestinians west of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, the Gaza civil defence said, despite the truce agreement reached last week with Hamas.
In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military operations have continued for a third day in the Jenin refugee camp, the Israeli army killed two more Palestinians, bringing the total death toll since Tuesday to 12 with dozens more wounded.
Hamas said the casualties were members of its armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, and were killed Wednesday night in the village of Burqin, just west of Jenin, after being surrounded by Israeli troops for hours. The Palestinian health ministry said their bodies were being held by the Israeli army.
Israel’s raid in Jenin, which has over the years seen frequent deadly incursions, began days after the ceasefire came into effect in the Gaza Strip, ending Israel’s 15-month brutal war on the besieged coastal enclave. Israel’s defence minister on Wednesday said his forces were applying lessons in Jenin learned in Gaza.
Hundreds of families have been forced to evacuate from Jenin. Various media reports state the attacks in Jenin have rendered it “nearly uninhabitable”.
