2 killed, 3 injured by Israeli airstrike on mosque in West Bank

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
22 Oct 2023 04:25

The airstrike coincides with reports of Israeli military units being deployed at the entrances of the Jenin refugee camp.

A bullet hole is seen in a shop window following an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp, West Bank, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023 (AP)

The director of Jenin Hospital announced that two martyrs and three injuries were administered to the hospital after Israeli occupation forces shelled the al-Ansar Mosque in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

Footage shows the moment al-Ansari mosque in #Jenin was bombed by the Israeli occupation.#PalestineGenocide pic.twitter.com/24Ctfcwqce
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 22, 2023

The Israeli occupation army confirmed that a fighter jet had targeted the mosque and its surroundings at around 2 a.m. on Sunday.

The airstrike against the al-Ansar Mosque coincided with reports of Israeli infantry units being deployed at the camp's entrances, without the exact scale being specified.

Two Palestinians were martyred as a result of the Israeli targeting of al-Ansari Mosque in Jenin, #WestBank. The Director of the #Jenin Hospital also stated that three injuries arrived at the hospital.#PalestineGenocide pic.twitter.com/XgvG0RH580
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 21, 2023

The shelling came at a time when Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and the occupied territories in 1948 are escalating, parallel to the continued criminal bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip.

Concurrently, Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of al-Khalil and the town of Beit Ummar in the West Bank.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent confirmed that Israeli settlers attacked residents of the town of Huwara, south of Nablus, and opened fire on Palestinian homes.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health announced on Saturday evening the death of 19-year-old Palestinian youth Qassam Farouk Mohammad Haj Ahmad, who succumbed to critical injuries sustained from Israeli gunfire to the head about a week ago in Tulkarm.

Reports by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) show that Palestinian casualties of settler violence in the occupied West Bank have been sharply increasing over the past three years.

In 2020, 24 Palestinians were killed by settlers or the IOF. It increased by four-fold in 2021 reaching 84. In 2022, the number of Palestinians killed was 154, increasing to 277 in 2023 as of October 20.

The Israeli occupation's war machines do not stop killing.

Only tonight, 50 Palestinians were brutally murdered by the IOF. Since the beginning of the aggression, more than 500 massacres have been committed against #Palestinian families, with dozens of families wiped off the… pic.twitter.com/ihUKIgLtX5
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 22, 2023

Up until September 19, prior to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, 189 Palestinians were reported to be killed. This number saw a sharp spike since October 7, with 88 Palestinians killed over the span of two weeks.

That is roughly seven Palestinians killed each day in the West Bank aside from large-scale massacres being committed against their brethren in Gaza. The UN has also recorded 102 attacks of settler violence targeting Palestinians and their property in the West Bank in the past two weeks.