Israeli raid kills 11 Palestinians while pursuing militants in the West Bank

Israeli raid kills 11 Palestinians while pursuing militants in the West Bank By Christina Elizabeth - February 23, 2023
Israeli raid kills 11 Palestinians while pursuing militants in the West Bank

Israeli raid kills 11 Palestinians while pursuing militants in the West Bank

More than 100 people were injured during a rare daytime Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, according to Palestinian sources. The operation was dubbed a "massacre" by the local director of the Red Crescent.

The operation in Nablus on Wednesday, according to Israeli authorities, included three suspects "planning assaults in the near future." The three were "neutralized," according to a joint statement from the Israel Security Agency and Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

According to a list of the deceased given by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, all three of the alleged Palestinian terrorists that the IDF targeted were killed.
According to the IDF, two were killed in a firefight with the soldiers, and one was murdered while fleeing.

According to Israeli authorities, suspects hurled explosive devices, Molotov cocktails, and rocks at Israeli forces.

According to the Palestinian health ministry and the official Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA), at least 102 individuals have been hurt. According to WAFA, seven of the injured are in critical condition.
Approximately 10:15 a.m. (3:15 a.m. ET) was the start of the Israeli military's daytime operation, according to Ahmad Jibril, the Red Crescent's regional director. Everyone is out shopping in the ancient city's open market at this time. At this hour of the day, nobody anticipates an invasion, he remarked.

He claimed that Israeli snipers were firing live ammo from the rooftops. Many people were shot in the head, shoulders, and backs because of this, he claimed. He said, "Most of the dead were shot in the head."

"Unarmed individuals who were even outside of the old city were shot. He cried, "Bullets were flying everywhere.
Jibril reported that a drone was "randomly" dispersing tear gas. Additionally, he claimed that drones were shooting live rounds, which the IDF refuted.
IDF spokesman Maj. Nir Dinar told CNN that Israel did not use drones in the West Bank that fired live rounds.

Little drones that release tear gas grenades were reportedly deployed to disperse the riots, according to him.

Although Dinar declined to comment on whether there were covert Israeli operations, he said: "The IDF has such capability." Jibril of the Red Crescent claimed that some Israeli special troops were disguising themselves as locals.

Jibril claimed that their "teams were blocked from reaching the injured," who included a 4-year-old boy with a heart issue who was put unconscious by tear gas.
Dinar of the IDF expressed his hope that the rumor that Israeli soldiers had stopped medical personnel from reaching the injured was untrue: "I am not familiar with such behavior and I hope it did not occur. Let us know if they have any proof, and we'll present it to the commanders.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, the primary IDF foreign spokesman, described the raid to reporters as a huge, chaotic affair that "became extremely messy."

He claimed that the Israeli Security Agency and Border Police Special Forces had approached the residence where they thought the suspects were hiding and had ordered them to turn themselves in.
He claimed, "They didn't give themselves up, they barricaded themselves inside the house and unleashed heavy fire on our forces. He claimed that as the other two continued firing at the Israelis, one of the suspects tried to flee the home and was shot.

And eventually, we improved our efforts. Moreover, missiles were launched at the residence. And the two guys were dead," he added after later clarifying that he meant neutralized.

When questioned about the missiles, he replied: "When you enter a situation where people are not giving up, you intensify the fire."
He said that Israeli reconnaissance troops came under fire as the conflict went on in other areas. He described the exchange of fire as "a very, very aggressive exchange of fire involving cars, firing from the roofs, and motorcyclists." A great deal of violence

He claimed that the significance of the objectives helped to explain why the IDF chose to enter the militant hotspot during the day. He claimed the daylight operation was "based on a specific intelligence indication we got from the Shin Bet," the Israeli Security Agency, even though they prefer "night time activity."

"We went in there for that reason. These are the individuals that murdered one of our men.
According to the extremist organization Islamic Jihad, two of its commanders died in the fighting with Israeli soldiers.

The terrorist organization Lion's Den also acknowledged that some of its members were engaged in the combat, but it did not specify whether any of them were slain.

A member of Hamas was among the victims in the Nablus raid, according to the Palestinian terrorist group. Hussam Salim was identified by Hamas as a member and a martyr, and the organization published a picture of him with an assault rifle and telescopic scope.
He was designated as one of the IDF's targets after allegedly carrying out "shooting and explosive device attacks" and capturing the individuals responsible for the murder of IDF soldier Ido Baruch last year. Salim was recognized by the IDF as a top member of the Lion's Den organization, which took credit for the murder of Baruch in October of last year.

The membership of Palestinian militant organizations overlaps.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, six of the fatalities were men in their 20s. They ranged in age from 16 to 33 to 61 to 72. The ministry's list of the deceased reveals they were all men.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, the raid brought the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces this year to 61. According to CNN archives, the number includes those who were shot while attempting to harm Israelis, terrorists who were the targets of raids, spectators, and those who engaged in combat with Israeli soldiers.

Eleven Israelis have died in Palestinian attacks this year, including a border police officer who was stabbed by a teenager and then shot by friendly fire from a civilian security guard. Seven Israelis were killed in a shooting near a synagogue, three in a car ramming attack, and three more in a car bombing.

IDF operations into the West Bank often take place at night; the last time the military carried out an operation during the day, they said it was necessary due to an urgent threat.
The Al Qassam Brigade, an armed branch of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, issued a warning that its "patience is running out" due to the enemy's "escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank."
In the past year, a number of deadly Israeli military incursions have shaken the occupied West Bank, as tensions between Israel and the Palestinian territories have remained extremely high in a region that has seen a great deal of carnage.

According to CNN, an Israeli operation in the city of Jenin in January resulted in the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in more than a year, with at least 10 murdered that day and one dying later from his injuries.
The following day, a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem claimed the lives of at least seven bystanders, making it one of Israel's bloodiest recent terror acts.

This occurs when Netanyahu is in charge of the most virulent right-wing and religious cabinet in the nation's history.

According to Netanyahu, who earlier told CNN's Jake Tapper that he has chosen a different strategy, people can become "hung up" on peace talks with the Palestinians.

According to CNN's Hadas Gold, the sights on Wednesday matched those "not seen since the second intifada," or uprising, as tensions between Israeli authorities and Palestinian militants reach a boiling point.

Sana Noor Haq of CNN provided reporting assistance.

By Christina Elizabeth - February 23, 2023

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