Israel’s forces raided a refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, killing at least six Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities said early Wednesday.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, an Israeli drone strike hit a group of Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp next to the town of Tulkarem.
Majdi Mohammed / AP
The Palestinian Health Ministry said six bodies have been brought to the Thabet Thabet hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of disrupting ambulances transporting the dead and wounded.
ALI SAWAFTA / REUTERS
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Agence France-Presse reported that, in a television interview, Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said the war was “beyond a catastrophe” and accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of planning “to get rid of the Palestinians.”
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war started Oct. 7. At least 310 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, according to the health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.
Elsewhere, Israeli forces on Tuesday expanded their ground offensive into urban refugee camps in central Gaza after bombarding the crowded Palestinian communities and ordering residents to evacuate. Gaza’s main telecom provider announced another “complete interruption” of services in the besieged territory.
The military’s announcement of the new battle zone threatens further destruction in a war that Israel says will last for “many months” as it vows to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its Oct. 7 attack. Israeli forces have been engaged in heavy urban fighting in northern Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, driving Palestinians into ever-smaller areas in search of refuge.
Qatar’s state news agency QNA reported that Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani spoke by phone with President Biden about the latest developments and joint mediation efforts for calming the situation in Gaza and reaching a permanent ceasefire.
And the U.S. said Israel’s minister for strategic affairs, Ron Dermer, met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan to discuss topics including transitioning to a different phase of the war to maximize focus on high-value Hamas targets, improving the humanitarian situation, and planning for governance and security in Gaza after the war.
Despite U.S. calls for Israel to curb civilian casualties and international pressure for a cease-fire, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military was deepening the fighting.
“We say to the Hamas terrorists: We see you and we will get to you,” Netanyahu said.
Israel’s offensive is one of the most devastating military campaigns in recent history. More than 20,900 Palestinians, two-thirds women and children, have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza, whose count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The U.N. human rights office said the continued bombardment of middle Gaza had claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives since Christmas Eve. The office noted that Israel had ordered some residents to move there.
The Israeli military announced the deaths of two more soldiers Monday, bringing the total killed since the ground offensive began to 161.
The United Nations named an outgoing Dutch finance minister as its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, AFP reports, in the wake of last week’s watered-down Security Council resolution calling for aid to be delivered to the territory.
Sigrid Kaag’s appointment comes with Gaza facing a dire humanitarian emergency and aid severely slowed by Israel’s relentless bombing of the densely populated strip.
Earlier, Israel said it would no longer grant automatic visas to U.N. employees and accused the world body of being “complicit partners” in Hamas’ tactics. Government spokesman Eylon Levy said Israel would consider visa requests case by case. That could further limit aid efforts in Gaza.
