Death toll rises to 7 in ongoing Israeli incursion into Tulkarm, West Bank

By Awad Rjoob

WEST BANK (AA) - The death toll for Palestinians killed in the Israeli incursion into Tulkarm and its refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank rose to seven Friday, according to medical sources and media reports.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Qais Fathi Nasrallah, 16, arrived at the Tulkarm Governmental Hospital, killed by Israeli occupation gunfire in the refugee camp. It did not disclose further details.

The official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, said the boy was shot in the head on a street leading to the Shuweika suburb north of Tulkarm city.

In a separate incident, the Palestinian government television reported that the army "killed 5 Palestinians inside a house in the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarm city."

"At least five martyrs inside a house as a result of being fired upon and cold-bloodedly assassinated inside the Nur Shams camp in the Israeli occupation's 24-hour aggression," it added.

It noted that the army prevents citizens and ambulances from reaching the house, and noted "fears of possible abduction (by the army) of the bodies."

Earlier Friday, a Palestinian was killed by army gunfire during a raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, while others were injured by live bullets, according to WAFA.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated teams dealt with "a martyr and two gunshot injuries and two assault injuries, during the Israeli occupation forces' raid on the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarm."

The Israeli army continues its military operations for a second consecutive day in Tulkarm and the Nur Shams camp in the northern West Bank, using military bulldozers and police dogs, causing extensive damage to infrastructure, witnesses confirmed to Anadolu.

Late Thursday, Israeli Army Radio announced that the army began implementing a "broad-scale military operation" in the Nur Shams refugee camp, without specifying the objective or duration.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, affiliated with the Fatah party, and the Jerusalem Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Jihad movement, announced in separate statements that they are engaging in fights with the army.

Parallel to its ongoing war on Gaza since Oct 7, the Israeli army has escalated raids and arrests in the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.

The destructive war on Gaza has resulted in more than 34,000 deaths and injuries, most of them children and women, along with massive destruction and a famine that claimed the lives of children and elderly, according to Palestinian and international data.

Israel continues this war despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire. Tel Aviv is also facing charges of committing "genocide" before the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul