UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE CHANGES
By Anadolu staff
ISTANBUL (AA) - A Palestinian was killed and six others injured on Friday evening by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.
The society reported in a statement that its teams “were handling the transport of a martyr from the eastern neighborhood of Jenin to the hospital.”
Earlier, the society confirmed that its teams treated a 14-year-old child who was shot in the knee with live fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in the northern part of Qalqilya city.
The organization also reported that Israeli forces fired at one of its ambulance crews in Jenin, also located in the northern West Bank.
The incident resulted in two medics being injured by shrapnel from live bullets to their faces. Both medics were taken to the hospital for necessary medical treatment.
It also reported that a volunteer doctor inside the vehicle was injured by live ammunition in the hand.
The organization said that Israeli forces are obstructing the work of ambulance crews and hampering their efforts to respond to emergencies in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp.
Meanwhile, Palestine’s official news agency Wafa said the Israeli forces fired at two young men in Ramallah. One of the individuals was hit with three gunshots in his leg, while the other sustained a gunshot wound to his hand.
The agency also reported that Palestinian journalists came under live gunfire from Israeli forces while covering the ongoing military operation in the city.
Video footage shared by the journalists showed them trying to explain their journalistic duties to the soldiers before coming under fire, forcing them to take cover.
Since the early hours of Wednesday, the Israeli army has been conducting a “wide-scale operation” in the northern West Bank, as reported by Israel’s public broadcaster.
The operation, which involves simultaneous military actions in Jenin and Tulkarem, began under the cover of air force.
Israeli forces, including armored units, have entered Jenin and Tulkarem and Al Fara Camp near Tubas.
While the Israeli forces withdrew from Al Fara Camp early Thursday morning and from Tulkarem on Thursday evening, operations in Jenin are ongoing.
The military has heavily fortified its positions in the eastern part of Jenin, where clashes have been intense, including explosions from improvised explosive devices set by Palestinian fighters and detonations by the army, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported a rise in the death toll in the northern West Bank, stating that 20 Palestinians have been killed since the early hours of Wednesday.
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.
At least 673 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.
In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio