Israeli forces shoot dead elderly Palestinian in violent West Bank raid

Israeli forces shot dead an elderly Palestinian man in his 80s outside of his home as they continued violent in the occupied West Bank which began on Wednesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said.

The man was shot dead in the city of Jenin, with the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRC) identifying him as Tawfiq Ahmed Younes Qandil.

The PRC added that Israeli army forces carried on firing at ambulances that had a dead and wounded person in them, during the raid.

At least 20 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing raids, and dozens of others wounded.

The Israeli army have said they are carrying out "counterterrorism" operations, continuing the raids in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, as well as in villages near Bethlehem.

According to a report in Israeli media, residents who returned to the Nur al-Shams area on Friday described extensive destruction to infrastructure including to roads.

They also reported that the Israeli army dug up roads and homes, claiming that explosive charges were hidden in them.

Many Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the last few days since the raid and assaults started due to the increased military activity.

The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel to immediately halt its operation, saying it was "fuelling an already explosive situation".

He also urged Israeli forces to "exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable".

Since the start of the war on Gaza, at least 637 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the Gaza war began on October 7, the UN said on Wednesday, with over 10,000 detained.

The Palestinian Mission to the UN strongly denounced the raids in a letter on Thursday, highlighting that the Israeli army had invaded homes and “deliberately targeted civilians, destroyed vital infrastructure and even besieged the four main hospitals in the area”.

In Jenin, Israeli forces stopped and checked ambulances while military jeeps parked around the government hospital. Internet and communication services have also been disrupted for days in the city.

The UN humanitarian office OCHA said "Israeli forces have repurposed homes as military positions" and were "effectively besieging" several medical facilities.

Palestinian rights groups including Al-Haq, Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights called on the international community to immediately intervene and enact measures against Israel to ensure international laws are being abided by.

The ongoing military operation is being described as the largest of its kind since 2002, marking a significant escalation while Israel’s war on Gaza rages on.