JENIN: Israeli security forces shot two Palestinian men on Thursday who appeared to be surrendering and unarmed during a raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestine TV news footage showed.
In the footage, the men are seen exiting a building surrounded by armed Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in an apparent surrender. The forces then appeared to direct the men back inside the building before opening fire at close range.
A Reuters journalist in the vicinity saw the men leave the building, appearing to surrender, and later, after hearing shots fired, saw Israeli forces standing near what appeared to be a lifeless body.
The Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that the two men were killed in the shooting, identifying them as 26-year-old Montasir Abdullah and 37-year-old Yusuf Asasa.
The Israeli military and Israel Police issued a joint statement announcing that they had opened an investigation after forces opened fire toward suspects who had exited a building.
The statement did not give any reason for why the forces opened fire, nor say that the two men had lain on the ground before they were directed back inside the building and shot.
Jenin Governor Kamal Abu Al-Rub, speaking by phone, accused Israeli forces of carrying out a “cold-blooded execution” of two young men who he said were unarmed and had surrendered.
He said those who opened fire should face accountability, but expressed doubt that Israeli authorities would conduct a genuine investigation.
Israeli forces had been carrying out an operation in the Jenin area to apprehend individuals wanted for “terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces,” the Israeli military and police said in the joint statement.
The two men who were shot were wanted individuals who were affiliated with a “terror network in the area of Jenin,” the statement said. It did not specify what the two men were accused of nor disclose any evidence of their alleged link with a terror network.
According to the military and police, security forces had surrounded the building where the men were located before initiating a “surrender procedure” that lasted several hours.
“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects,” the statement said, adding that the shooting was “under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir later issued a statement giving his “full backing” to the military and the police unit that was involved in the shooting.
“The fighters acted exactly as expected of them — terrorists should die!,” he wrote on X.
The Jenin raid marks the latest assault in a months-long Israeli campaign across northern West Bank cities. Israeli forces on Wednesday launched an operation on the nearby city of Tubas.
Palestinian militant group Hamas, which agreed to a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza last month, condemned the killing of the men in Jenin as an “execution” and urged the international community to intervene to stop what it called Israel’s “escalating field executions.”
The group did not claim the two men as members.
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Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank who appeared to be unarmed
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Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank who appeared to be unarmed
- In footage, the men are seen exiting a building surrounded by armed Israeli forces in Jenin, lifting their shirts and lying on the ground in an apparent surrender
- The forces then appeared to direct the men back inside the building before opening fire at close range
Aid flow into Gaza falls short of ceasefire terms
- Israel says average of 459 trucks a day have entered Gaza, compared to the 600 promised under the ceasefire
- UN reports far fewer - just 113 trucks a day since Oct. 12
JERUSALEM: Aid deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the US-brokered ceasefire, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli military’s figures.
Under the October ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks of aid into Gaza each day. But an average of only 459 trucks a day have entered Gaza between Oct. 12, when flow of the aid restarted, and Dec. 7, according to an AP analysis of figures by COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid entry.
Aid has fallen short
COGAT said that roughly 18,000 trucks of food aid had entered Gaza between the ceasefire taking effect and Sunday. It said that figure amounted to 70 percent of all aid that had entered the territory since the truce.
That means COGAT estimates that a total of just over 25,700 trucks of aid have entered Gaza — well under the 33,600 trucks that should have entered by Sunday, under the terms of the ceasefire.
Throughout the conflict, the UN and aid groups have said the amount of aid entering Gaza is far lower than COGAT claims.
The UN says only 6,545 trucks have been offloaded at Gaza crossings between the ceasefire and Dec. 7, amounting to about 113 trucks a day. That’s according to its online database. The UN figures do not include aid trucks sent bilaterally by organizations not working through the UN network.
A Hamas document on Saturday provided to the AP put the amount of aid trucks that have entered at 7,333.
This week, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stressed a “dire” need for more aid to enter Gaza, saying Israeli restrictions on aid have bottlenecked recovery efforts.
Food remains scarce
Humanitarian groups say lack of aid has had harsh effects on many of Gaza’s 2 million residents, most of whom were forcibly displaced by war. Food remains scarce as the Palestinian territory struggles to bounce back from famine, which hit parts of Gaza during the war. Starving mothers in Gaza are giving birth to malnourished babies, some of whom have died in hospital, according to a recent report by UNICEF. As winter rains pick up, displaced families living in tents have been left exposed to the elements and without supplies to cope with floods and the biting cold.
“Needs far outpace the humanitarian community’s ability to respond, given persistent impediments,” the agency wrote in a report on Monday. “These obstacles include insecurity, customs clearance challenges, delays and denials of cargo at the crossings, and limited routes available for transporting humanitarian supplies within Gaza.”
Israel temporarily stopped all aid entry at least once in response to alleged Hamas violations of the truce. Israel said that Hamas has failed to return the bodies of the hostages in the time period established by the ceasefire, while Hamas has said it struggled to find the bodies due to the destruction left by Israel in the Palestinian territory.
Hamas has also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire terms because of the slow flow of aid, continued closure of the Rafah crossing and ongoing deadly strikes on Gaza.
Remains of final hostage
Meanwhile, Israel says it is demanding the return of the final hostage, Ran Gvili.
The Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the AP on Wednesday that Gvili’s remains must be returned, a condition of the first phase of the ceasefire.
“Once phase one is completed, phase two will begin,” the office said in a statement.
Hamas militants and Red Cross crews continued to comb the ruins of Gaza City for the final body this week, while the militant group Islamic Jihad claimed it had handed over the last hostage body in its possession.
On Tuesday, Hamas called for more international pressure on Israel to open key border crossings, cease deadly strikes on the territory and allow more aid into the strip.
The accusations mark the latest road bump at what regional leaders have described as a critical time for the ceasefire agreement, as mediators seek to push the truce into its second, more complicated phase.
Under the October ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israel agreed to allow 600 trucks of aid into Gaza each day. But an average of only 459 trucks a day have entered Gaza between Oct. 12, when flow of the aid restarted, and Dec. 7, according to an AP analysis of figures by COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid entry.
Aid has fallen short
COGAT said that roughly 18,000 trucks of food aid had entered Gaza between the ceasefire taking effect and Sunday. It said that figure amounted to 70 percent of all aid that had entered the territory since the truce.
That means COGAT estimates that a total of just over 25,700 trucks of aid have entered Gaza — well under the 33,600 trucks that should have entered by Sunday, under the terms of the ceasefire.
Throughout the conflict, the UN and aid groups have said the amount of aid entering Gaza is far lower than COGAT claims.
The UN says only 6,545 trucks have been offloaded at Gaza crossings between the ceasefire and Dec. 7, amounting to about 113 trucks a day. That’s according to its online database. The UN figures do not include aid trucks sent bilaterally by organizations not working through the UN network.
A Hamas document on Saturday provided to the AP put the amount of aid trucks that have entered at 7,333.
This week, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stressed a “dire” need for more aid to enter Gaza, saying Israeli restrictions on aid have bottlenecked recovery efforts.
Food remains scarce
Humanitarian groups say lack of aid has had harsh effects on many of Gaza’s 2 million residents, most of whom were forcibly displaced by war. Food remains scarce as the Palestinian territory struggles to bounce back from famine, which hit parts of Gaza during the war. Starving mothers in Gaza are giving birth to malnourished babies, some of whom have died in hospital, according to a recent report by UNICEF. As winter rains pick up, displaced families living in tents have been left exposed to the elements and without supplies to cope with floods and the biting cold.
“Needs far outpace the humanitarian community’s ability to respond, given persistent impediments,” the agency wrote in a report on Monday. “These obstacles include insecurity, customs clearance challenges, delays and denials of cargo at the crossings, and limited routes available for transporting humanitarian supplies within Gaza.”
Israel temporarily stopped all aid entry at least once in response to alleged Hamas violations of the truce. Israel said that Hamas has failed to return the bodies of the hostages in the time period established by the ceasefire, while Hamas has said it struggled to find the bodies due to the destruction left by Israel in the Palestinian territory.
Hamas has also accused Israel of violating the ceasefire terms because of the slow flow of aid, continued closure of the Rafah crossing and ongoing deadly strikes on Gaza.
Remains of final hostage
Meanwhile, Israel says it is demanding the return of the final hostage, Ran Gvili.
The Office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the AP on Wednesday that Gvili’s remains must be returned, a condition of the first phase of the ceasefire.
“Once phase one is completed, phase two will begin,” the office said in a statement.
Hamas militants and Red Cross crews continued to comb the ruins of Gaza City for the final body this week, while the militant group Islamic Jihad claimed it had handed over the last hostage body in its possession.
On Tuesday, Hamas called for more international pressure on Israel to open key border crossings, cease deadly strikes on the territory and allow more aid into the strip.
The accusations mark the latest road bump at what regional leaders have described as a critical time for the ceasefire agreement, as mediators seek to push the truce into its second, more complicated phase.
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