Israeli Strike Kills Five Palestinians in Occupied West Bank Refugee Camp

An Israeli air attack on the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank has killed five Palestinians, including three teenagers.

Reporting from Ramallah, in the West Bank, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said on Tuesday the strike occurred overnight, with Israeli forces reportedly targeting leaders of armed resistance groups in the camp.

Israeli attacks in the territory have skyrocketed since its war on Gaza began in October.

“Medical sources tell us they’ve received the bodies and body parts of five Palestinians who were killed in the Israeli air strike on the Nur Shams refugee camp,” Ibrahim said.

“Israeli forces have been looking to target Abu Shuja’a, who has been one of the leaders, if not the main leader, of the Tulkarem and the Nur Shams battalion in the refugee camp, and he has survived several assassination attempts,” she added.

Palestinian news agency Wafa identified two of the teenagers killed as Adnan Jaber, 15, and Mohammed Ahmad Elayyan, 16.

The others killed were Mohannad Qarawi, 19, Jibril Ghassan Jibril, 20, and Mohammed Ali Yusif, 49, Wafa reported.

Jibril was freed as part of a deal between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel in November that saw the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons for captives in the Gaza Strip, Ibrahim reported.

Following the air raid, Palestinian parties declared a general strike on Tuesday in the Tulkarem governorate to protest against the killings.

Hamas condemned the attack and called on Palestinians in the West Bank to intensify their struggle against Israel’s illegal occupation.

Source: Aljazeera