6 Palestinians killed in clashes with Israeli army

JENIN, West Bank — The Israeli army raided a home in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, triggering a battle that killed at least six Palestinians and wounded more than two dozen others, Palestinian health officials said.

The military said it had killed the suspected assailant behind a fatal shooting of two Israeli brothers in the West Bank town of Hawara last week. An Israeli police spokesperson said three Israeli forces were in fair-to-serious condition after being shot in Tuesday’s firefight.

The Jenin brigade, a loosely organized armed group based in the Jenin refugee camp, said its militants shot and hurled explosive devices at Israeli soldiers. The troops had surrounded the suspect’s home on the outskirts of the densely populated camp, a hub of militant activity. Videos showed black smoke billowing in the distance after the army fired missiles at the building.

Tuesday’s raid was the latest in a string of deadly arrest operations by the Israeli military in the northern West Bank, as violence surges to its highest levels in years. The raid raised fears of further bloodshed as Israel struggles to contain growing unrest led by young Palestinians in the occupied West Bank who are increasingly taking up arms against Israel’s open-ended occupation, now in its 56th year.

Palestinian officials said six men, ages 22 to 49, were killed Tuesday and 26 others hurt. Israeli security forces identified Abdul Fattah Kharushah, 49, as a Hamas militant who killed the Israeli brothers in Hawara.

Hamas said in a statement that Kharushah was a member, without claiming responsibility for the brothers’ killings.