Sixth Palestinian dies after Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp
Amjad Aref al-Jaas, 48, is the sixth Palestinian to die as a result of Israel’s large-scale raid on Jenin on Monday.
Ramallah, occupied West Bank – A sixth Palestinian has died as a result of the Israeli military raid on the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin that took place on Monday, in which five Palestinians, including one minor, were killed and more than 90 other people injured.
Amjad Aref al-Jaas, 48, succumbed to his wounds on Tuesday morning after he was shot in the stomach, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Amjad’s son, 22-year-old Waseem, was one of 10 Palestinians killed during the Jenin refugee camp massacre that took place earlier this year on January 25.
Separately, Israeli forces also shot dead a 20-year-old Palestinian male, Zakariya al-Zaaloul, on Monday night, in the village of Husan near Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank, bringing the total Palestinian death toll since Monday to seven.
A funeral procession for al-Zaaloul was held on Tuesday morning, starting at the Beit Jala public hospital to the cemetery in Husan where he was laid to rest.
Massive raid on refugee camp
Early on Monday, Israeli soldiers stormed the Jenin refugee camp and fired live ammunition, stun grenades and toxic gas, according to the Wafa news agency. Combat helicopters were used for the first time in decades after the ensuing hours-long exchange of gunfire between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli army.
The health ministry identified the victims of Monday’s attack as Ahmed Saqr, 15, Ahmed Daraghmeh, 19, Khaled Darwish, 21, Qassam Sariya, 19, Qassam Faisal Abu Sirriya, 29.
At least 22 injured Palestinians are believed to be in critical condition, including a 15-year-old girl.
الشهيد أمجد الجعص ارتقى متأثراً بإصابته برصاص الإحتلال خلال العدوان على جِنين أمس.
و هو والد الشهيد وسيم الجعص الذي استشهد بتاريخ 26/1/2023 أثناء ارتكاب الإحتلال مجزرة في مُخيّم جِنين. pic.twitter.com/InTAbm24QH— Raghad🇵🇸 (@raghadm48) June 20, 2023
[Translation: The martyr Amjad al-Jaas succumbed to his injury by the occupation bullets during the aggression on Jenin yesterday. He is the father of the martyr Waseem al-Jaas, who was martyred on January 26, 2023, while the occupation committed a massacre in the Jenin camp.]
Israeli forces also targeted medical crews in Jenin on Monday. According to Nibal Farsakh, media and information officer at the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), at least four ambulances were hit by Israeli fire.
They were “directly targeted with live ammunition, causing material damage to the structure and the glass of the ambulances themselves”, Farsakh said.
According to Farsakh, medical teams were first denied access and eventually arrived late to treat those who were injured at the scene. Some were “in a very severe condition” and needed urgent medical assistance.
The Israeli military said seven of its soldiers were wounded during the attack, with the army saying on its radio channel that one soldier’s condition had deteriorated but was stable. It said the raid resulted in a “massive exchange of fire”.
In the camp, the Israeli army arrested former Palestinian prisoner Assem Abu al-Haija, who was released from Israeli prisons in January and is the son of Jamal Abu al-Haija, an imprisoned leader within the Hamas armed resistance movement.
Since the start of 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 170 Palestinians, including 26 children, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The death toll includes 36 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army during a four-day assault on the besieged Gaza Strip between May 9 and 13.