Israeli military forces raided the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank on Monday, June 19, 2023.
The raid sparked the fiercest day of fighting between Israel and Palestine in years as Palestinian militants detonated roadside bombs and Israeli helicopter gunships struck Palestinian gunmen to rescue troops trapped in the hourslong firefight.
This resulted in the death of at least five Palestinians, including a 15-year-old boy, and 91 others were wounded, Palestinian health officials said. Seven Israeli soldiers were also wounded, the army disclosed.
The Palestinian Health Ministry identified those killed as Khaled Asasa, 21, Qassam Abu Sariya, 29, Qais Jabarin, 21, Ahmed Daraghmeh, 19, and 15-year-old Ahmed Saqr. Of the 91 Palestinians wounded, health officials said at least 12 were in critical condition.
Wissam Bakar, Director of Jenin Government Hospital, disclosed that a 15-year-old girl was among the critically wounded. Islamic Jihad claimed two of the dead; Qais Jabarin and Qassam Abu Sariya as its fighters.
According to the Israeli military, Israeli soldiers stormed into the Jenin refugee camp in the early morning to arrest two wanted militants. However, they encountered fierce resistance. Palestinian militants said that they ambushed Israeli armored vehicles with explosive devices, disabling several vehicles with troops trapped inside.
Israeli military Spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht described Palestinian militants’ use of at least one powerful roadside bomb as “very unusual and dramatic.” Five mangled vehicles were stuck in the firefight for hours, requiring the military to dispatch helicopters as part of an elaborate evacuation operation.
It was the first time that a helicopter gunship had been used in the occupied West Bank since the second Palestinian uprising around two decades ago, Israeli media reported. The Jenin refugee camp, long a militant stronghold, witnessed some of the biggest battles at the time.
At least one Apache helicopter fired missiles at Palestinian gunmen to try to clear the area while security forces worked to extract the trapped vehicles, the Israeli army said.
The local branch of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad based in Jenin divulged that its fighters opened fire at the combat helicopter. The group commended its fighters, while cautioning Israel to “reconsider its calculations before its soldiers set foot on Jenin’s land.” The Israeli army said that the Palestinian gunfire caused minor damage to the spinning tail rotor of a helicopter.
As the Israeli military eventually withdrew its damaged vehicles from the camp in the late afternoon, Palestinians ventured out to assess the heavy damage and bury their dead.
The Israeli military stated that seven members of the paramilitary border police and the army suffered light and moderate wounds.
Netanyahu Praises Israeli Forces Amid Criticism By Other States
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to wounded troops in the hospital. He praised the forces and said that Israel was “striking terror with strength and determination.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership and other Arab states sharply condemned the Israeli raid.
Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Palestinian official, accused Israel of waging “a fierce and open war” against the Palestinian people.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it called Israel’s “continued escalation against the Palestinians,” saying the violence undermined efforts to reduce regional tensions.
The escalation was the latest in more than a year of near-daily violence that has wracked the West Bank. Mohammed Kamanji, a lawyer and field researcher with the Independent Commission for Human Rights, said the latest attack was one of the largest Israeli military incursions into Jenin.
