A Palestinian points to rubble as he inspects the site of an Israeli military airstrike, in the area of Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Ban on May 18, 2024. Photo: Reuters.
Israeli jets heavily bombed the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank late on 17 May, killing a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and injuring several civilians – including a five-year-old girl.
BREAKING | Israeli airstrikes on Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. pic.twitter.com/DcZvYOZpS6
— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) May 17, 2024
The armed wing of the Gaza-based PIJ, the Quds Brigades, confirmed on Saturday that Islam Khamaysa, a member of the Military Council of their Jenin Brigade, was killed in the rare airstrike.
Khamaysa is described as being “responsible for several unique and heroic resistance operations that left the enemy’s soldiers and settlers killed and injured.”
“We tell this cowardly occupier that we only achieve victory through blood and limbs. Your oppression will only increase our strength and resilience, and you will witness the might of our fighters on the battlefield and in the arenas of jihad,” the Quds Brigades statement reads.
The funeral of the Palestinian Islam Khamayseh who was killed by an Israeli air strike in Jenin refugee camp last night. pic.twitter.com/GgdzTrRxSm
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) May 18, 2024
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed eight people were wounded in the attack and remain in stable condition. Local reports say the airstrike also leveled the targeted house to the ground and damaged neighboring homes.
Tel Aviv confirmed the air raid overnight, saying it was carried out by a fighter jet and helicopter. Since 7 October, the Israeli army has increasingly conducted airstrikes in the West Bank, where violence has been surging for the past several years.
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According to Israeli authorities, the attack hit “a compound used as an operations center by militants” and “was carried out to remove an imminent threat.”
Israeli army raids and settler pogroms have killed at least 502 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since 7 October. Furthermore, the latest figures from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, show there are currently 9,300 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons and detention centers, including 250 children and 78 women.
These figures include around 3,424 Palestinians placed under “administrative detention,” which allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence.
