Israel's deadly West Bank raid enters fourth day

JENIN, Palestinian Territories — Israel pressed on with a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank for a fourth day on Saturday.

As clashes and explosions persisted in the northern city of Jenin, the Israeli military said two Palestinians were killed while preparing to carry out bombings overnight in the south of the West Bank.

Hamas hailed a "heroic operation" at what it called a "sensitive time" during the Israeli operations in the north.

Islamic Jihad, which has a strong presence in the northern West Bank, similarly said it "congratulates" the perpetrators of what it called a "coordinated attack".

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since Wednesday, in simultaneous raids in several cities in the northern West Bank.

Since Friday, soldiers have concentrated their operations on the city of Jenin and its refugee camps, long a bastion of Palestinian armed groups fighting against Israel.

On Saturday morning, an AFP photographer in Jenin heard ongoing clashes in the city, where the streets were mostly empty save for armoured vehicles, including one that blocked access to the government hospital.

"I think it's the worst day since the start of the raid... We hear from time to time clashes and sometimes there is big bombing," said the hospital's director, Wisam Bakr.

Water and electricity were cut off from the hospital during the raid, forcing it to rely on a generator and water tank, he told AFP.

Bodies pulled from rubble 

The United Nations said on Wednesday that at least 637 Palestinians had been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the Gaza war began.

Nineteen Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during army operations over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.

Of the 20 Palestinians reported dead since Wednesday, Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have said at least 13 were members of their armed wings.

The dead included an 82-year-old man, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, and two teenagers, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which said another 55 had been wounded since the launch of the Israeli operation.

In Gaza, Israel pushed forward with its deadly offensive in response to Hamas's October 7 attack.

Gaza's civil defence agency said its rescuers pulled 29 bodies from the rubble since dawn and transported dozens of wounded to hospitals across the devastated Palestinian territory.

On Friday, a medical source at the southern Nasser Hospital said an Israeli strike killed three people near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Israeli shelling in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza killed two people on the same day, the civil defence agency said.