Israel-Palestine: Israeli army conducts fresh deadly raid in West Bank as Gaza toll mounts

Israeli forces killed seven Palestinians during a 15-hour raid in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm on Tuesday. 

The incursion involved bombing a home with a drone strike, tear-gassing a hospital, obstructing ambulances from reaching the wounded, and leaving mass destruction to roads and shops. 

It comes amid an escalation in Israeli violence against Palestinians across the West Bank that coincides with a bombardment campaign in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. 

The latest raid in Tulkarm, located in the northern West Bank, began late on Monday when Israeli special forces stormed the city’s refugee camp and shot two Palestinians inside a coffee shop. 

They were identified as Mahmoud Hadaida, 25, and Hazem al-Hosari, 29, a father of three and the owner of a supermarket near the camp.

Abu Suhaib al-Hosari, Hazem’s uncle, told Middle East Eye that he was sitting with his friend in a well-known cafe when Israeli troops surprised them and shot them at close range.

'[Hazem] was ambitious and always cheerful, but like all Palestinians, he was oppressed by the Israeli occupation'

- Abu Suhaib al-Hosari, Hazem al-Hosari's uncle

“When we received the news, I left the camp with Hazem’s brother and went to the hospital and saw he was shot in the chest,” Abu Suhaib said. 

"He was ambitious and always cheerful, but like all Palestinians, he was oppressed by the Israeli occupation and its continuous aggression everywhere,” he added. 

Immediately after the shooting, the Israeli military sent large reinforcements to the camp which prompted clashes with armed Palestinians. 

A drone strike overnight hit a home in the camp, killing at least three people. 

Meanwhile, military bulldozers razed roads in the camp, vandalising roundabouts and storefronts, as snipers took position across high-rise buildings.

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Residents were forced to stay indoors during the raid, including the family of Hazem, who were unable to reach the hospital to bid him farewell for hours. 

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said in a statement that its staff were prevented from reaching the wounded, which led to the death of a number of them.

In one instance, military jeeps stopped a PRCS ambulance on its way to the hospital, arresting a wounded person inside. 

At the entrance to the Thabet Thabet Hospital, Israeli forces fired tear gas, footage published by local media showed. 

'Collective punishment'

Tulkarm has become a frequent target of Israeli forces in recent weeks. 

Last month, the Israeli army raided the Nur Shams refugee camp, east of the city of Tulkarm, in a 24-hour operation, leaving 13 Palestinians killed and widespread destruction in its wake.

'Israel fails every time inside the camps to eliminate the resistance'

- Hassan Khreisha, former speaker of the PLC

Since 7 October, Israeli forces have killed 196 Palestinians in the West Bank - almost the same number of people they killed between January and September. 

Hassan Khreisha, the former deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, said the Israeli army is increasing its aggression in the West Bank as the world’s attention is turned to the onslaught in Gaza.

“Destroying infrastructure and bulldozing streets aims to impose collective punishment and dismantle the popular incubator of the resistance,” Khreisha told MEE.

“Yet Israel fails every time inside the camps to eliminate the resistance,” he added.

The “hysterical” manner in which the army was acting in the West Bank, Khreisha explained, was in part due to an attempt to send a message that supporting armed struggle is costly. 

During the Tuesday raid, the Israeli army distributed posters that read “terrorism is destroying the camp,” in an attempt to turn public opinion against local resistance fighters.