7 Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on Jenin in northern West Bank

Seven Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes and gunfire in Jenin city and its refugee camp in the northern West Bank, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Friday, reported Xinhua.

An Israeli drone targeted a group of young men in the Jenin camp, and Israeli forces surrounded a house west of Jenin amid an exchange of gunfire with Palestinian militants, Palestinian security sources told Xinhua.

Then, Israeli forces deployed reinforcements to the area before shelling the house with several "Energa" grenades, the sources added.

Mahmoud Al-Saadi, a Red Crescent ambulance official in Jenin, told Xinhua that Israeli forces imposed a military cordon on the area, preventing ambulance crews from reaching the besieged house.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that its soldiers conducted "counterterrorism" activity in the Jenin area.

"The soldiers are encircling a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves, and IDF soldiers are exchanging fire with the terrorists. During the exchanges of fire, an IDF aircraft struck several armed terrorists in the area," the statement said.

Jenin city and its refugee camp have experienced escalating tensions for more than two years, with the intensity increasing since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict erupted in early October 2023.

More than 560 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army since October 2023 across the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.