Israel’s war on Gaza live: 7 killed in Israeli raid on Jenin in West Bank

More information is emerging about Israel’s deadly raid in Jenin.

Here’s what we know so far:

• Israeli forces stormed Jenin and its refugee camp at about 8am (05:00 GMT), prompting clashes with local armed groups.
• Fighting in one area of the camp is ongoing and is expected to continue “for a while”, reports Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim from Ramallah.
• At least seven people, including a doctor and a teacher on their way to work, as well as a ninth-grade student, have been killed by Israeli gunfire, reports the Wafa news agency. Residents told Ibrahim they believed the other people killed were also civilians.
• An additional 12 people, including several students and a journalist, have been injured, two of them critically, according to Wafa.
• Schools in Jenin and its refugee camp, including one caught up in the clashes, have been evacuated.
• An Israeli bulldozer has entered Jenin camp, where residents believe it will demolish the home of a Palestinian killed earlier today.

• Jenin raid will not discourage Hamas resistance, group says

  Hamas says the Israeli army’s operation in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank will not discourage the determination of the Palestinian group, which called the move “desperate”.

  The operation is “a continuation of a series of the occupation’s crimes of murder, siege and starvation in Rafah, Jabalia and other areas of the Gaza Strip”, a statement by the group said.

  The movement added: “As we mourn the martyrs and extend our condolences to their families, we affirm that the occupation’s continuing crimes against our people in Gaza and the West Bank will not weaken the support of our people, nor will they stop the resistance of our people.”

  The group stressed it “continues to confront the occupation and its aggression by all means, despite international complicity and silence”.

  The Israeli army announced it began an operation in Jenin in the morning.

  At least seven Palestinians have been killed and many wounded in the raid, according to the Palestinian authorities, as both Israel and Palestinian fighters report clashes.

  Five killed in Israeli attack on Rafah’s Yabna camp

  An Israeli strike has hit a group of people in the Yabna refugee camp in central Rafah, killing at least five civilians and wounding others, according to a report by the Wafa news agency.

  There are also reports that at least three of the people killed were children.

  Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost tip on the border with Egypt, has been under attack from advancing Israeli troops and intensifying air raids since May 7, pushing hundreds of thousands of already displaced people sheltering there to flee towards other areas.

  As we reported earlier, an overnight Israeli attack on Rafah destroyed a residential house, killing at least eight people.

  The raid is the deadliest to take place in Jenin, known as a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, for months.

  Israeli army says it found weapons in Jabalia

  The Israeli military claims to have seized rockets and launchers in a mosque in Jabalia, northern Gaza.

  It said in a statement on X that Israeli troops continued their operations in the agricultural areas of the city, adding that other weapons were also found during the raids, including vests, a rifle, hand grenades, explosives and a handgun.

  Israeli forces detain 15 Palestinians in occupied West Bank raids

  The Israeli raids on Monday and Tuesday took place in Ramallah, Nablus and Tubas in the occupied West Bank, as well as in occupied East Jerusalem, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

  The 15 arrests bring the number of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces since October 7 to 8,815, according to the organisations’ statement.

  ICC’s Khan is trying to stop Israel from defending itself: Gallant

  Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s “attempt to deny the State of Israel the right to defend itself and release its abductees must be rejected outright”.

  Gallant claimed in a post on X that Khan is trying to flip the facts but will not succeed in doing so.

  “The prosecutor’s parallel between the terrorist organisation Hamas and the State of Israel is despicable and disgusting,” he said, adding that his country is not a party to the court and does not recognise its authority.

  On Monday, Khan said he had requested arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders.

  Israeli attacks on northern Gaza continue

  The Israeli army’s operation in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza is ongoing.

  Local sources confirmed that Israeli vehicles penetrated the north of the camp and surrounded al-Awda Hospital in the Tall az-Zaatar area, about 500 metres (547 yards) away from the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

  Israel should consider normalisation with Saudi Arabia: President Herzog

  Israel’s President Isaac Herzog says it should seriously consider normalising relations with Saudi Arabia, calling such a move a “game-changer”, according to the Israeli media.

  According to media reports, he said at a conference that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke about a proposal for Israeli normalisation of ties with Saudi Arabia in their meeting two days ago.

  “This is a move that could bring about tremendous change, a historic game-changer that constitutes a victory over the empire of evil. I very much hope that this possibility is being seriously considered,” he was quoted as saying by Israeli media.

  “Our struggle is not only against Hamas, it is a great strategic and historical, inter-power and global struggle, and we must do everything to fit into the grand vision of normalisation.”

  Deadly Jenin raid expected to continue for a while

  Confrontations are still continuing. According to information from medical sources, two of the seven people killed so far are minors. Their wounds were to the chest and the head, so we’re talking about an intention to kill.

  An Israeli army statement said they’re operating against a group of what they call “terrorists”. But according to Palestinians, all who have been killed are civilians. Some victims were even over the age of 55, so we’re not talking about fighters at the moment, although we are seeing confrontations going on.

  Locals say a bulldozer has made its way inside the refugee camp. They believe it is there to demolish the home of a Palestinian who was killed earlier.

  We are anticipating this to continue for a while and the situation is very tense at the moment.

  Jabalia camp targeted by Israeli forces again

  Our colleagues on the ground in Gaza are reporting that Israeli forces have targeted Jabalia refugee camp again.

  We are getting reports that the army was firing directly at the northern gate of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the camp.

  We will bring you more on this as soon as we can.

  Palestinian Health Ministry condemns killing of doctor in Jenin raid

  Usaid Kamal Jabarin, a 50-year-old general surgeon, is one of the seven people killed by Israeli forces during their raid on Jenin.

  Jabarin was shot dead on his way to Jenin Government Hospital, where he worked as a specialist.

  In a statement, the ministry condemned what it called Jabarin’s “deliberate murder” and appealed to the international community for the protection of medical staff and hospitals.

  What we know about Israeli military raid on Jenin

  As we’ve been reporting, Israel’s military stormed the Jenin refugee camp and clashed with local fighters, resulting in one of the most violent raids there in months.

  Here’s what we know so far:

  • Israeli security forces deployed to Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, early this morning for a “counterterrorism operation”, according to the Israeli military.
  • Fighting broke out between the invading Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters.
  • Israeli gunfire in Jenin killed at least seven people, including a doctor, a teacher and a student. At least 12 people were wounded, including several students.
  • All schools in Jenin and its refugee camp have been evacuated due to the violence.
    

    China hopes ICC will be ‘objective’ after warrants sought for Israeli, Hamas leaders

    China says it hopes the ICC will uphold an “objective” position after its chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders.

    “It is hoped that the ICC will uphold its objective and impartial position and exercise its powers in accordance with the law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, calling for an end to the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.

    On Monday, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said he had requested arrest warrants for PM Netanyahu, defence chief Gallant and three Hamas leaders, including its chief Sinwar, over the alleged crimes committed in the October 7 attack and Israel’s war on Gaza.

    ICC arrest requests show it is ‘scrutinising both sides’ leadership’

    Israel and Hamas have both criticised the ICC chief prosecutor for requesting arrest warrants for their leaders, accusing him of making a false equivalency between the two sides.

    However, former ICC official Eric Witte says that the decision does not imply that the actions of each side’s leaders are equal but that they will be “equally scrutinised under the law”.

    To maintain credibility and pursue justice for all victims of the war – including Israeli captives and Palestinians in Gaza – it is “important for [the prosecutor] to show that he is scrutinising actions of leadership on both sides”, Witte told Al Jazeera

    “It’s impossible to compare the two,” he added. “But what we can say is that victims on both sides are deeply deserving of justice, accountability … and the broader international community has an interest in seeing standards upheld.

    “There are standards even during wartime. Even if you feel your cause is justified, it doesn’t mean that you can use any means whatsoever to pursue that cause.”

    WATCH: Children in occupied West Bank process trauma through play

    The Jenin refugee camp has seen more Israeli military raids than anywhere else in the occupied West Bank.

    For the thousands of children who call it home, it means being exposed to the violence and trauma of war on a near-daily basis.

    Al-Quds Brigades say fighting is continuing against Israeli troops in Jenin

    We are receiving updates on the ongoing Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

    The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad group, has said its fighters are engaged with Israeli troops in the city.

    A statement made on Telegram by the Jenin Battalion of the group said “violent clashes” started after “an infiltration of the special forces” into the Jenin refugee camp.

    The Israeli army announced it began the operation earlier in the morning. At least seven Palestinians have been killed and many wounded in the raid.

    Gantz says neither Hamas nor Israel should rule Gaza

    Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has expressed his opposition to Israel’s military assuming control over the Gaza Strip amid reports that a military occupation of the Palestinian territory would require extending the country’s mandatory military service from 32 months to four years, defence think tanks report.

    The Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said in their latest Gaza assessment that Gantz’s comments follow on from his recent ultimatum to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to set a new strategy for Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.

    Gantz’s reported opposition to a military occupation of Gaza also comes after a government report was leaked in the Israeli media which estimates Israel would need a “a dramatic increase” in reserve soldiers to carry out such an operation and that it could cost about $5bn.

    Israeli jets struck about 70 targets in past day: Army

    The Israeli army has said its air forces hit about 70 targets across Gaza in the last 24 hours.

    The military said in a post on X that the targets included Palestinian fighters, weapon depots, rocket launchers, observation posts and buildings of fighter groups.

    The statement said troops continued their operations and killing fighters across Gaza, including central Gaza, the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza and Rafah in southern Gaza.

    As Tareq, our colleague in Gaza, just reported, since midnight, at least eight Palestinians have been killed in Rafah after a residential building was destroyed, and three killed in Beit Hanoon, northern Gaza, where Palestinians were trapped during the expansion of the fighting to the Jabalia refugee camp.

    Seven people now confirmed killed in Israeli raid on Jenin

    The death toll from Israel’s military raid on Jenin refugee camp has risen again, with seven people now confirmed killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

    Nine people were also injured in the raid, including two who are in critical condition, according to the ministry.

    Israel’s army is blocking rescue teams from reaching the injured, who include several students, reports the Wafa news agency, citing the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

    The raid, one of the deadliest in Jenin in months, adds to the more than 500 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military and settlers in the occupied West Bank since October 7.

    Israeli minister warns against military rule of Gaza

    Israel should not impose military rule over Gaza as it could result in the loss of many soldiers, its Minister of Culture and Sports, Miki Zohar, said.

    Zohar, a member of the right-wing Likud party led by PM Netanyahu, made the remarks during a party meeting on Monday, highlighting growing division within the bloc over the issue of Gaza’s post-war governance.

    “Anyone here who calls for a military government knows that he will later go to the homes of the mothers who will lose, probably hundreds if not more soldiers, and explain to them why their children fell,” said Zohar, according to Israel National News.

    Last week, Defense Minister Gallant, also a Likud member, called on Netanyahu to explicitly reject Israeli military rule of Gaza after the war and to outline an alternative plan for Gaza’s post-war governance.

    Palestinian civilians ‘ripped to pieces’ by Israeli bombs in Beit Lahiya

    Israeli attacks continue in northern Gaza, targeting civilian areas.

    On Monday, an Israeli attack on the Mashrou neighbourhood of Beit Lahiya, a city north of Jabalia in Gaza, destroyed residential buildings and trapped people under the rubble.

    Panic spread among thousands of Palestinians sheltering here, with one man saying it was “as if an earthquake” had struck.

    “Pieces of flesh are strewn all over the walls. Look for yourself. I am collecting pieces of flesh. These belong to young children, women and babies. May God punish those responsible,” he said.

    A grieving young girl said she “came home to find all my brothers and sisters gone”.

    “All of them were killed, ripped to pieces, their flesh scattered all over the place,” she said.