Fatal West Bank raid adds to toll of violent year

Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians on Saturday in an exchange of gunfire that erupted during a military raid in the West Bank, according to Israeli and Palestinian accounts, in the latest confrontation that has made 2022 the deadliest year of violence in the occupied territory since 2015.

The raid occurred in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the site of repeated clashes between Israeli forces and local gunmen and residents. The camp is known as a stronghold of Palestinian militants.

Palestinian officials said soldiers entered the camp early Saturday and surrounded a house. In videos circulated on social media, exchanges of fire could be heard. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported two dead and 11 wounded, three of them critically. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the dead as Mahmoud al-Sous, 18, and Ahmad Daraghmeh, 16.

The Israeli military said it had arrested a 25-year-old operative from the Islamic Jihad militant group who has previously been imprisoned by Israel. It said the man had recently been involved in shooting attacks on Israeli soldiers.

It said soldiers opened fire during the raid when dozens of Palestinians hurled explosives and opened fire.

The killings occurred a day after two Palestinian teenagers, ages 14 and 17, were killed by Israeli fire in separate incidents elsewhere in the occupied West Bank. Rights groups accuse Israeli forces of using excessive force in their dealings with the Palestinians, without being held accountable. The Israeli military says it opens fire only in life-threatening situations.

Israel has been operating throughout the territory, especially in the northern West Bank, since a spate of deadly attacks in Israel last spring. Some of the attacks were carried out by Palestinian assailants from the area.

Mourners pray for victims of massacre

Grief-stricken families prayed Saturday at a Buddhist temple filled with children's

keepsakes, flowers and photos of the smiling toddlers who were slain as they napped on blankets at a day care center in Uthai Sawan in northeastern Thailand.

Coffins containing the 36 killed, 24 of them children and most of them preschoolers, were released Friday and moved to Wat Rat Samakee and two other temples in the town nestled among rice paddies in one of Thailand's poorest regions.

Several mourners stayed at Wat Rat Samakee overnight in the tradition of keeping company for those who die young.

A mourning ceremony will continue for three days before royal-sponsored funerals, which will culminate in the cremation of the bodies according to Buddhist tradition.

No certain motive may ever be known for Thailand's deadliest mass killing after the perpetrator left the day care center Thursday and killed his wife and son at home before taking his own life.

Police identified the attacker as Panya Kamrap, 34, a former police sergeant fired earlier this year because of a drug charge involving methamphetamine. Police have said they believe

Panya was under a lot of stress from tensions with his wife and money problems.

NICARAGUA

Floods feared from strengthening storm

Tropical Storm Julia strengthened Saturday heading westward in the southern Caribbean as authorities prepared for it to pass over or near Colombian islands on a path toward Nicaragua.

Julia was forecast to pass Colombia's San Andres and Providencia islands late Saturday, likely as a hurricane, on its way to Nicaragua by early Sunday.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said via Twitter that the government was preparing shelters on the islands. Officials on San Andres announced a curfew for residents that began at 6 a.m. Saturday to limit people in the streets.

Julia could bring 5 to 10 inches of rain across the region. “This rainfall may cause lifethreatening flash floods and mudslides through this weekend,” the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

The storm's remnants were forecast to sweep across Nicaragua,

Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and southern Mexico, a region already saturated by weeks of heavy rains.

Majdi Mohammed/Associated Press Armed Palestinians march in a funeral procession in the city of Jenin after Israeli soldiers shot and killed two people in an exchange of fire that erupted during a raid in the West Bank town.