Palestinian killed, several injured in Israeli army raids in West Bank

By Awad Rajoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian man was killed by Israeli military fire on Monday evening and several others were injured in suffocation incidents during Israeli army raids across the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that “a martyr tried to reach the Rafidia Government Hospital in Nablus coming from the Askar refugee camp.”

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which earlier issued an alert about a young man injured on the hill near Askar camp, confirmed that medical teams had been blocked by Israeli forces from reaching the site. The young man was later reported to be in critical condition.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces raided several areas in Nablus, including the al-Masaken al-Sha'biya and Askar Hill neighborhoods, using military vehicles. They opened live fire, as well as tear gas and sound bombs, resulting in at least one Palestinian being shot.

In eastern Nablus, Wafa reported that Israeli forces attacked a 13-year-old boy, Amir Hanni, in the town of Beit Furik, beating him and detaining him for several hours after storming the town.

Incidents of suffocation were reported in the village of Qusra, south of the city, where Israeli forces launched gas canisters and sound bombs, leading to clashes and several cases of suffocation.

In the southern West Bank, near Bethlehem, Israeli forces raided the town of al-Khader, causing injuries due to asphyxiation from tear gas.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank over Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, where more than 45,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed.

At least 812 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,450 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio