IDF drone strike kills 4 Palestinians who attacked troops in West Bank’s Jenin
Forces carry out morning raid in which they arrest dozens of terror suspects, seize weapons and destroy bomb-making lab, command center and tunnel shafts
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
An Israeli drone strike killed four Palestinians who had hurled explosive devices toward Israel Defense Forces troops carrying out an arrest raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday morning, according to the army and Palestinian officials.
The IDF said it was operating in Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp to detain wanted Palestinians suspected of involvement in terror activities.
It said there were clashes between troops and Palestinian gunmen and suspects hurling explosives at them.
A drone strike was carried out against a group of Palestinians hurling the explosives, according to the IDF, which said it was aware of several armed Palestinians who were killed and wounded in the clashes and the strike.
The military published footage showing the drone strike and the hurling of explosives that preceded it.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said four Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces in Jenin. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said they were killed in the drone strike on the Old City.
The IDF publishes footage showing a drone strike against a group of armed Palestinians who were hurling explosives at troops during a raid in the West Bank's Jenin. The Palestinian Authority health ministry reported four killed. pic.twitter.com/0DtjmJQa1Q
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 12, 2023
The IDF said troops detained dozens of suspects during the raid and seized firearms, explosive devices and other weapons.
It added that the forces also found and destroyed a bomb-making lab, as well as a command center used by local terror operatives and several tunnel shafts.
Since the October 7 onslaught by Hamas against Israel — in which 3,000 terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians — Israeli troops have arrested over 2,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,100 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 280 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in a few cases settlers.
Based on military estimates, the vast majority of the 280 Palestinians killed since October 7 were shot dead during clashes amid arrest raids, and many of them, according to data seen by The Times of Israel, were armed with either a firearm or an explosive device.
The IDF is aware of at least three cases of uninvolved Palestinians being killed by troops in recent weeks, and a handful of cases of settlers killing Palestinians, that are still under investigation.
