5 Palestinians injured in Israeli army assault in West Bank

Five Palestinians were injured Wednesday after Israeli soldiers beat them in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, said Palestinian medical officials, as residents rushed to buy food following a partial lifting of a curfew by the Israeli military.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said crews transported five people to a hospital after they were assaulted by Israeli forces during a continuing incursion into the Jabal Jawhar area.

On Monday, the Israeli army announced the launch of a multi-day military operation in Hebron involving Shin Bet and Border Police. The army said the operation is focused on Jabal Jawhar, citing “security assessments that claim a recent rise in armed activity and clan-based violence in the area.

Separately, thousands of Palestinians surged into shops Wednesday in southern Hebron to purchase food and basic supplies after the army partially lifted a curfew that had been in place since early Monday.

READ: Israeli army begins multi-day operation in occupied West Bank city of Hebron

Israeli forces withdrew from some neighborhoods and eased the curfew for about three hours, allowing shops to reopen as residents hurried to restock essential goods, witnesses told Anadolu. No Israeli source confirmed the scope or duration of the withdrawal.

The operation is being carried out in the part of Hebron under Israeli control, known as H2, under the 1997 Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The area includes neighborhoods surrounding the Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Israeli forces and illegal settlers have killed at least 1,107 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, injured nearly 11,000, and detained 21,000 since October 2023, Palestinian figures showed.

The International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal in a landmark opinion last July, and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

READ: Israeli forces kill Palestinian child, assault worshippers in occupied West Bank