International News
Israel-Palestine Conflict: 11 Palestinians killed in latest West Bank raid
Israel retaliates after Hamas attacks
It was one of the most bloody episodes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in almost a year, increasing the prospect of additional violence.
Following the operations, Israel forces were on high alert since any violence in the West Bank frequently prompts a prompt response from terrorists in Gaza.
After daytime operations by Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank resulted in the deaths of 11 Palestinians, Israel escalated on Thursday and fired rockets at targets in the Gaza Strip in what it claimed was retaliation for Hamas attacks.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared that it was “actively attacking in Gaza.” According to the Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas, the Palestinian militant organisation in control of Gaza, had a weapons production facility and a military compound.
Israel’s air defences reported that six rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israeli territory hours before the strikes, of which five were intercepted and one landed in an open space.
Motive
Early on Thursday, sirens were activated by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon, which caused a pillar of black smoke to rise over the northern part of Gaza City.
The Israeli military claimed it attacked a Hamas military base that was next to a mosque, hospital, hotel, police station, and school, citing it as an illustration of how the organisation takes advantage of the civilian population by stationing weapons close to populated areas.
The escalation came after a rare daytime raid by Israeli forces on the West Bank city of Nablus killed 11 people and injured 102.
This was according to a toll provided by the Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA) citing the Palestinian health ministry.
The operation targeted those “planning attacks in the immediate future” and they “neutralised” three militants, the IDF and Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement.
