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Photo:
5 killed in Nablus. Source: Screenshot. Published by IMEMC News

The Balata refugee camp, near Nablus, on Saturday. Published by Haaretz

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by IMEMC News
Nov 18, 2023

Early Saturday dawn, the Israeli army fired a missile at a home in the center of the Balata refugee camp, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus, killing five Palestinians and injuring at least two, in addition to causing extensive damage.

Media sources said Palestinian Red Crescent medics rushed to the targeted home and evacuated the Palestinians to a hospital.

The sources added that all wounded Palestinians suffered serious injuries, and that five of them have succumbed to their wounds.

The attack targeted a building where various senior political leaders of the Fateh movement and the Al-Aqsa Brigades were holding a meeting to discuss the escalating Israeli violations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The slain Palestinians are the general leader of the Balata Brigade of Al-Aqsa Brigades of the Fateh movement, Mohammad Khalil Khader Al-Miskawi, in addition to Mohammad Mousa Al-Msaimi, Mohammad Fawzi Hashshash, Mohammad Abbas Abu Mustafa and Ali Faraj.

In related news, the soldiers killed Omar Shahrouri, 18, and injured two after the army invaded Tubas city in the occupied West Bank’s northeastern part.

Also on Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the death of Mohammad Kamel Awni Abu Mizer and Abdul Rahman Talal Abu Sneineh, both from the city of Hebron, who were killed by Israeli army fire in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.

Media sources also announced the death of 21-year-old Jamal Mahmoud Abdel Rahman Masharqa from the Jenin refugee camp, eight days after he was shot by Israeli forces in the chest and leg.

On Thursday, three Palestinian young men, Abdul-Qader Abdullah Al-Qawasma, 26, Nasr Abdul-Afo Al-Qawasma, 17, and Hasan Ma’moun Qfeisha, 28, were shot dead near the town of Beit Jala, northwest of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.

Late Thursday, and continuing through the night, the Israeli army invaded the northern West Bank city of Jenin, killing three Palestinian young men, Mohammad Al-Azmi, Bahaa Al-Lahlouh, and Mohammad Obaid Al-Fallu. and injuring eleven others, some seriously.
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IDF Kills Five West Bank Palestinians It Says Planned Imminent Terror Attack

The Israeli army targeted a facility used as the headquarters of the Fatah movement in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus. Palestinians report that a 14-year-old boy is among the casualties

by Jack Khoury and Yaniv Kubovich for Haaretz
Nov 18, 2023 1:01 pm IST

The IDF struck a building in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus overnight on Saturday, killing five Palestinians.

The IDF and the Shin Bet security service said the site was a hiding place of militants who planned attacks against Israelis in the imminent future. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that two people were wounded in the attack, in addition to the five casualties.

Local reports indicate that a 14-year-old boy was killed in the attack. It is unclear whether the boy, c, was inside the building or passing through the area. The attack was reportedly carried out using drones and targeted a facility used as the headquarters of the Fatah movement in the refugee camp.

According to testimonies from the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where the victims were taken, four of the casualties belonged to a group in Balata associated with Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, identified with Fatah.

According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Muhammad Zahed, who was involved in shooting attacks against Israelis in the Nablus area, is one among the casualties. The security forces said in the statement that militants engaged the Israeli forces in gunfire, prompting a retaliatory response. Additionally, according to the statement, the troops destroyed a workshop for manufacturing explosive devices and found concealed explosives on roads in the area.

"There was a massive explosion that shook the refugee camp," an eyewitness said. "The attack came from the air; we don't know exactly how, but there was an explosion that caused significant damage to the Fatah headquarters in the camp and to many houses because it's a densely populated area," he added, mentioning that "at least four bodies of young people affiliated with the resistance forces in the city" were retrieved from the rubble.

In a separate incident, fire exchanges were reported in the Palestinian town of Tubas between armed individuals and Israeli forces entering the town to conduct arrests.

Security forces operated in the Jenin refugee camp overnight on Thursday, and according to the military's statement, they targeted and eliminated five militants there. The Jenin Battalion, a local organization of armed factions, reported that three of the casualties were affiliated with its members.

Since Thursday, reports in Haaretz suggest that senior officials in the U.S. government believe that Israel is facing the danger of a further escalation of hostilities in the West Bank. In recent discussions with senior Israeli figures, Biden administration officials warned that the situation in the West Bank is on the verge of eruption, and an outbreak of violence there would impact Israel's legitimacy and international support for its ongoing military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

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