Israeli drone attack kills two in expanding occupied West Bank operation

Two people were killed in an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle close to the occupied West Bank town of Qabatiya, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on the fourth day of a massive Israeli operation in and around Jenin.

The Israeli military said a vehicle was struck by what it claimed was a “terrorist cell” inside the airstrike on Friday in the Jenin governorate, but it provided no further information.

Just before Israeli forces stormed Qabatiya and began “sweeping operations,” according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, it was a drone attack.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, the air attack coincided with the ongoing military operation against Palestinian fighters in Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp, which has already resulted in the deaths of 14 Palestinians and the injuring of about 50 others.

Additionally, the Israeli military announced the arrests of 20 “wanted suspects” and claimed to have seized weapons.

The operation in the northern West Bank, which was launched just two days after the Israeli-Hamas truce in Gaza, has also caused a lot of destruction.

About 2, 000 families have been forced to flee the Jenin area due to Israeli-armed bulldozers and diggers who have demolished homes and damaged roads.

A United Nations spokesperson on Friday warned against the “deteriorating” situation in the West Bank and called on Israel to protect Palestinians.

Farhan Haq claimed that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) “warns once more that lethal, warlike tactics are being used,” which raises questions about using force that goes against law enforcement standards.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement released earlier, expressed grave concerns about the use of excessive force in Jenin and warned of the possibility of widespread human rights violations.