UPDATE - Israeli army shoots 7 Palestinians, arrests 3 others during raids on refugee camps in West Bank

UPDATES WITH CHANGE IN LEDE, HEADLINE CHANGED, MORE DETAILS ADDED

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – The Israeli army opened fire during incursions on refugee camps in the occupied West Bank on Friday, injuring at least seven Palestinians, three of whom are in critical condition, and detaining three others.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement that “seven people injured by Israeli forces' gunfire were admitted to the Palestine Medical Complex from the Al-Amari camp. Among them, three are in critical condition.”

Earlier, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that a critically injured 12-year-old boy with a bullet wound in his torso has been transported to a hospital.

The boy, who has yet to be identified, was hit by a bullet while Israeli soldiers were forcing their way into the Al-Amari camp in Al-Bireh city in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army stormed the Al-Amari camp and also raided the Um Alsharayet neighborhood south of the city, eyewitnesses told Anadolu.

According to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA, the Israeli army during the incursion also detained a young man whose name was not disclosed.

During the incursion, the Israeli army detained a young man whose name was not disclosed by the Palestinian official news agency WAFA in his report.

The news agency also reported an Israeli military presence at the entrance to Birzeit, north of Ramallah, and an invasion of Nabi Salih, northwest of the city.

In northern Ramallah, the media outlet said Israeli forces arrested two young men in the town of Sinjil and closed its entrances.

Meanwhile, illegal Israeli settlers attacked cars belonging to citizens near the towns of Huwara and Burin, south of Nablus, causing damage, the news agency reported.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli forces raided the town of Idhna west of Hebron and stormed the home of a recently released prisoner, it said.

The forces vandalized the place where the family had gathered to receive well-wishers celebrating his release and forced everyone present to leave, it added.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip after an attack by the Hamas group on Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 545 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,200 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio