The Israeli military conducted an airstrike in the West Bank city of Jenin amid ongoing heavy fighting in the Palestinian territory, authorities reported on Friday. The Israeli military stated that a military aircraft targeted a “terrorist cell during an encounter with security forces in a counterterrorism operation in the area of Jenin,” without providing further details.
Such airstrikes, although frequent during the lengthy Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip, have been uncommon in the West Bank in recent times. Israel claims that the operations across the northern West Bank, resulting in the deaths of 16 individuals, mostly militants, since late Tuesday, are aimed at preventing impending attacks. However, Palestinians perceive them as an extension of the conflict in Gaza and an attempt to prolong Israel’s enduring military control over the territory.
The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that over 650 Palestinians have lost their lives in the West Bank since the commencement of the conflict. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged an immediate cessation to Israel’s West Bank operation and issued a statement on Thursday urging the government to ensure the protection of civilians.
In a rare move, the United States strongly denounced Israel’s attacks on United Nations vehicles and called for an end to the assaults and threatening remarks against the U.N. and humanitarian organizations. During a U.N. Security Council meeting addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood specifically criticized the Israeli military’s repeated targeting of a clearly marked U.N. food agency vehicle, which was struck by at least 10 bullets while moving toward an Israeli military checkpoint at the central Wadi Gaza bridge despite having received multiple clearances from Israeli authorities.
As a response, the World Food Program announced a temporary pause on all staff movements in Gaza. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric confirmed on Thursday that all WFP convoys and staff movements remained on hold, although staff continued to communicate with humanitarian partners responsible for aid delivery in Gaza. Wood expressed concern over the WFP incident and mentioned that Israel informed the U.S. that their initial evaluation indicated it was due to a “communication error” among Israeli military units.
On a separate occasion, UNICEF reported that two of its vehicles were targeted with live ammunition while waiting at an assigned holding point near the Wada Gaza checkpoint to reunite five children, including an infant, with their father. This was the second shooting involving a UNICEF vehicle in 12 weeks.
