Eleven Palestinians killed during Israeli raid in Nablus

Israeli troops person killed astatine slightest 11 Palestinians and wounded dozens much during a raid successful the occupied West Bank, Palestinian wellness officials say.

Explosions and gunfire sounded arsenic troops entered the aged metropolis of Nablus connected Wednesday morning, sparking equipped clashes with Palestinian gunmen.

The Israeli subject said it killed 3 wanted militants holed up wrong a location who refused to surrender.

Several of those killed extracurricular were civilians, including 2 aged men.

The Palestinian wellness ministry said 72-year-old Adnan Saabe Baara was 1 of them. Video footage purportedly showed his assemblage successful a thoroughfare adjacent to bags of bread, successful what is usually a engaged marketplace area.

A 61-year-old man, Abdul Hadi Ashqar, and a 16-year-old boy, Mohammad Shaaban, were besides changeable dead, the ministry said.

Another aged man, Anan Shawkat Annab, 66, who suffered from tear-gas inhalation, died successful infirmary connected Wednesday evening.

Six members of the Lions' Den and different militant groups were killed during the raid, the Lions' Den said successful a Telegram post.

The fig of dormant is 1 much than that of an Israeli subject raid past period successful Jenin, which was the deadliest successful the West Bank since 2005.

What makes this raid adjacent much important is the immense numbers wounded, with the Palestinian wellness ministry saying much than 80 radical person suffered slug wounds. Five antithetic hospitals successful Nablus are presently treating them.

Senior Palestinian authoritative Hussein al-Sheikh condemned what helium described arsenic a "massacre", portion a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said helium held Israel's authorities liable for "this unsafe escalation, which is pushing the portion toward hostility and an explosion".

The militant radical Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, warned that it was "monitoring the escalating crimes conducted by the force against our radical successful the occupied West Bank and is moving retired of patience".

The raid lasted 4 hours and took spot successful the mediate of morning, erstwhile the constrictive streets of the aged metropolis are often packed with families and radical shopping.

Resident Khalil Shaheen described proceeding an explosion, which woke him up.

"I looked retired the model and saw peculiar forces with dogs, and they were connecting wires, which I presume are for TNT [explosives], God knows," helium said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it "upgraded" its cognition aft forces were changeable astatine by Palestinian gunmen. Its troops fired shoulder-launched missiles astatine the gathering wherever the wanted militants were hiding, which caused it to partially collapse.

It said it acted erstwhile it did due to the fact that it had real-time accusation - thought to beryllium a geolocated Facebook station - connected the determination of 1 of the militants.

"We saw the menace and we had to spell successful and decorativeness the work," IDF spokesperson Lt Col Richard Hecht said successful a briefing to reporters.

But Palestinian videos posted connected societal media besides amusement young men successful the street, who look unarmed, seemingly being fired astatine portion moving away, with 1 falling to the crushed arsenic gunshots are heard. The IDF described the footage arsenic "problematic" and said it was being reviewed.

Two of the militants successful the encircled gathering were Muhammad Junaidi, a commandant successful Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and different elder militant figure, Hussam Isleem.

The IDF said they and the 3rd militant, Walid Dkhail, were suspected of carrying retired erstwhile shooting attacks, including 1 successful the West Bank past October that killed an Israeli soldier, and of readying much attacks successful the adjacent future. Two different suspects were arrested successful Nablus past week.

During the raid, Isleem recorded a WhatsApp audio connection that was shared connected societal media, saying: "We're successful trouble, but we won't surrender ourselves. We won't manus implicit our weapons. I'll dice arsenic a martyr. Keep carrying weapons aft us."

Isleem's location had been raided by Israeli forces earlier this period and his household interrogated. His begetter told Palestinian media afterwards that forces told him his lad should manus himself successful oregon helium would beryllium killed.

Both Isleem and Junaidi were progressive successful the Lions' Den - a caller militant radical that emerged successful Nablus implicit the past twelvemonth amid a illness successful power by the authoritative Palestinian Authority information forces.

As with a akin radical successful the adjacent metropolis of Jenin, the young gunmen utilized TikTok and Telegram to dispersed a connection of equipped absorption against the Israeli concern to a caller procreation of Palestinians.

Israel has targeted parts of some cities successful waves of search, apprehension and intelligence-gathering raids, saying it is trying to stem the spate of deadly attacks against Israelis.

So acold this year, much than 60 Palestinians - including militants and civilians - person been killed, portion 11 radical person been killed successful Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis.

Wednesday's deadly raid successful Nablus is simply a further motion that caller attempts led by the US to easiness tensions are failing.

This week, the Palestinian Authority abandoned its propulsion for a ballot astatine the UN Security Council connected a solution which would person censured Israel's caller nationalist authorities implicit its plans to grow Israeli settlements successful the West Bank.

As portion of an evident understanding, Israel past said it would not denote caller settlements successful the coming months. According to sources quoted successful the Israeli media, Israel was besides to little the strength of its raids into Palestinian cities.