The Israeli attack on a vehicle near Qobtiyah comes amid an ongoing attack on nearby Jenin, which has displaced thousands of people.
Two people were killed in an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle near the occupied West Bank town of Qabatia, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, on the fourth day of a large-scale Israeli operation in and around the nearby town of Jenin.
The Israeli military said an airstrike in Jenin governorate on Friday hit a vehicle it said had a “terrorist cell” inside, but gave no further details.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that it was a drone strike that took place just before Israeli forces began a “sweeping operation” by storming Copticia.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, the airstrike took place on the occasion of an ongoing military operation against Palestinian fighters in Jenin and the adjacent refugee camp, which has already left 14 Palestinians dead and around 50 wounded.
The Israeli military also announced the arrest of 20 people it considered “wanted suspects” and said it had seized weapons.
In addition to the casualties, the operation in the northern West Bank – launched just two days after a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza – has caused widespread destruction.
Israeli armored bulldozers and diggers demolished houses and dug up roads in the Jenin area, displacing some 2,000 families.
A UN spokesman warned on Friday against a worsening situation in the West Bank and called on Israel to protect Palestinians.
During a media briefing, Farhan Haq said that the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) “repeatedly warns that lethal, belligerent tactics are being used, raising the standards of law enforcement agencies. There is concern over the use of force in excess of
Earlier, the spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Thamin al-Khaitan, expressed deep concern over the disproportionate and illegal use of force in Jenin, warning of the possibility of widespread human rights violations.
Al Khaitan stressed the responsibility of the international community to hold Israel accountable for these actions.
