Israeli raid on West Bank camp kills two Palestinians

Israeli army confirms troops were operating in Jenin

Israeli forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank on Tuesday. EPA

Israeli forces on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and wounded at least 12 others during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Israeli army confirmed that troops were operating in Jenin on Tuesday evening and said a drone had struck the main refugee camp.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement that troops were in the Palestinian city on a “necessary” operation “to thwart terrorist activities”.

Palestinian officials said that a youth had been shot in the stomach and was brought to hospital in a critical condition. He later died.

The ministry later said a second Palestinian with bullet wounds was brought to the hospital, dead on arrival.

Sources said a large army force had stormed the camp and besieged two houses.

Clashes broke out during the raid that led to the death of one and injury of others.

Mahmoud Sadi, Jenin director of the Palestinian Red Crescent, reported the “sound of explosives and shooting”, which were impeding rescuers' access to the site of the violence.

The identities of the dead were not immediately known, but the camp is known as a militant stronghold and Israel often carries out arrest raids in the area.

In July, Israel carried out its most intense operation in the West Bank in nearly two decades, leaving widespread destruction in the camp.

Also on Tuesday, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man along the Gaza-Israel border, Palestinian health officials said, the first such fatality in what have recently become almost daily confrontations along the frontier after months of relative calm.

Health officials said the man, 25-year-old Youssef Radwan, was shot in the neck and died in hospital.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment. Over the past few weeks, it has said its soldiers had been using riot dispersal means against Palestinians throwing explosives at the border fence.

Last week, five Palestinians were killed at the border by an explosive device detonated accidentally by demonstrators who were planning to use it against Israeli forces.