14 Killed In Israeli Strike In West Bank, Says Palestinian Red Crescent

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Saturday at least 14 people had been killed in an Israeli raid on Nur Shams refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army said troops had killed 10 militants during the operation, which it said started on Thursday.

AFP journalists saw bodies in the streets and houses hit by blasts as Israeli drones flew overhead and armoured vehicles moved through the camp.

Since early last year, violence has flared in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967. It has escalated further since war broke out in Gaza on October 7.

"So far, our crews have evacuated 14 martyrs from Nur Shams camp to the hospital," the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Earlier, the Palestinian health ministry said it had confirmed 11 injured in the Israeli raid, seven of them "wounded by live gunshots". Among them was a paramedic shot while trying to get to the wounded, it added.

Medics had been alerted to "a number of killed and injured" inside the camp, but the army was "denying them access to tend to the wounded", the ministry said.

An AFP journalist said paramedics had tried to enter the camp but had been refused access by the army. Gunshots rang out and soldiers carried out door-to-door raids, the journalist said.

Residents say power cut

The Israeli army said that it had "eliminated 10 terrorists" and made eight arrests around Nur Shams. Eight soldiers and a police officer were wounded, it added.

Israeli forces say their frequent raids target Palestinian militants, but civilians are often among the dead.

On Friday, the health ministry said 16-year-old Qais Fathi Nasrallah had been killed by Israeli troops in the nearby Tulkarem refugee camp.

Official Palestinian news agency Wafa said he had died after being "shot in the head by Israeli live gunfire". It was unclear exactly when he died.

A 30-year-old man, Salim Faisal Ghanem, had been "killed by Israeli troops" on Friday in the Nur Shams camp, Wafa said.

Residents contacted by AFP on Saturday said there was no electricity in the camp and food was running short, but nobody was being allowed to enter or leave.

Minister Muayad Shaaban, head of the Palestinian Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, said residents were suffering from the "destruction of homes, shops, the electricity grid, the sewerage, the water network and infrastructure".

Paramedic killed

Around 480 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to Palestinian official sources.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank is home to around 490,000 Israeli settlers who live in communities considered illegal under international law.

On Saturday, an ambulance driver was killed in clashes between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank village As-Sawiya, the Palestinian Red Crescent and the health ministry said.

"Volunteer paramedic Mohammed Awad Allan of the Palestine Red Crescent was killed while treating those injured by settlers' gunfire," the organisation said.

One witness said Israeli soldiers were present and had fired shots along with the settlers, but said it was not clear whether the army or settlers had shot at the ambulance driver.

The army has not responded to AFP's request for comment.

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