Palestine: Three Palestinians were killed and six others wounded by Israeli army when it invaded a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“The result of the aggression on Balata camp near the city of Nablus is three martyrs, and six injuries,” the ministry said.

The Health Ministry said the soldiers killed Mohammad Bilal Zeitoun, 32, Fathi Jihad Abdul-Salem Rezeq, 30, and Abdullah Yousef Mohammad Abu Hamdan, 24

The Palestinians were killed and injured when a large military force, in many armored vehicles, invaded the refugee camp at dawn, leading to protests, before the soldiers fired a barrage of live rounds, in addition to many rubber-coated steel bullets, gas bombs, and concussion grenades, reports Imem.org.

The soldiers also detonated three Palestinian homes during the invasion, including a home owned by the local Abu Shallal family.

The Palestinian TV said the soldiers did not inform the families, living near the homes, about their intention to detonate the properties.

The explosions caused serious damage not only to the targeted homes but also to the many surrounding properties, especially the ones above the properties in the same building.

Many surrounding homes sustained considerable property damage, especially since the refugee camp is densely populated with narrow alleys and attached properties.

Eyewitnesses said the army also deployed sharpshooters on rooftops of several buildings and prevented Palestinian ambulances from entering the refugee camp.

Israeli sources said the army deployed more than 400 soldiers during the invasion, and added that the soldiers also exchanged fire with Palestinian fighters.

In a video, an Israeli sharpshooter is seen pointing the laser of his sniper scope at the chest of a medic in a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance.

Ahmad Jibril, the head of the Emergency Department at the Nablus branch of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the army stopped its ambulances and refused to allow them to reach wounded Palestinians, forcing the medics to find alternate alleys and streets to reach the invaded area in Balata refugee camp, despite the serious risks to their lives.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers and paramilitary Israeli settlers had killed 156 Palestinians since the beginning of this year. Among those killed included 26 children, and 36 were killed in the Gaza Strip.

[Photo: A Palestinian lady observes the demolished buildings after the Israeli raid at the Balata Refugee Camp in Nablus, West Bank on May 22, 2023.
Photojournalist :Issam Rimawi/AA]