Israeli forces kill three Palestinians in Jenin raid involving air strike

Israeli forces killed three Palestinians on Tuesday during a raid on an occupied West Bank village that involved air strikes.

The attack took place in the early morning hours in the village of Kafr Qud, west of Jenin, when Israeli forces stormed the area and surrounded a house, according to local media reports.

The raid sparked heavy exchanges of fire and aerial shelling.

The Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs has identified the three men as Abdullah Mohammed Omar Jalamneh, 27, Qais Ibrahim Mohammed al-Baytawi, 21, and Ahmad Azmi Aref Nashrati, 29.

Israeli media reported that the army had cornered three men inside a cave in the village before snipers shot them, killing two and wounding the third.

Air strikes were then carried out, killing the remaining man. Israeli forces later seized at least two of the bodies.

The Israeli army claimed that the three men had been planning attacks in the area, but provided no further details.

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Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that forces would remain in the northern West Bank refugee camps - including Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams - which they have raided since January, leaving widespread destruction.

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad condemned the attack, calling it a "dangerous escalation". 

Israeli forces have increasingly used air strikes in the West Bank since October 2023, carrying out more than 100 such attacks over the past two years, according to Israeli media.

More than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire in that period, mostly from gunfire. 

At least 213 of those killed were children, 20 were women, and seven were people with disabilities, according to UN figures.

The UN says that this number represents 43 percent of all Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank over the past 20 years.