Israeli forces raid old city of Nablus, wounding 15 Palestinians, including a child

Israeli forces wounded 15 Palestinians, including a child, in a military raid on the northern occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a press release on Tuesday.

According to the Red Crescent, 12 of the wounded were hit by Israeli live fire, including a 14-year-old boy who was struck in the chest by an Israeli live bullet and transferred to the Rafidia hospital in the city.

Three other Palestinians were wounded with rubber bullets, and 135 were treated for asphyxiation with tear gas, the press release detailed.

"The occupation army entered the old city early in the morning and surrounded a house in the Qarioun neighbourhood," Majdi Awartani, a resident of Nablus' old town told The New Arab. "Fighters engaged the occupation soldiers during the raid, while the soldiers arrested a young man from the house and took him to a military jeep."

Meanwhile in Nablus, Israeli forces raid a neighborhood in the Old City. Some unconfirmed chatter talk about targeting a home housing up to 7 "wanted" Palestinians. A similar raid a few days ago resulted in the killing of 3. pic.twitter.com/7cjdRJKjwm

— Nour Odeh 🇵🇸 #NojusticeNopeace (@nour_odeh) May 9, 2023

"The occupation soldiers fired a lot of tear gas and shot live and rubber bullets, but only one man was hit by a rubber bullet during the confrontation inside the old city," he added.

According to local sources, Israeli forces withdrew less than one hour from entering Nablus after arresting 23-year-old Hamza Al-Halabi. Israeli media quoted the Israeli army claiming that its forces arrested two Palestinians in the raid, "suspected of carrying out attacks".

The Nablus-based Palestinian militant group, 'The Lions' Den' said in a statement made public on Telegram that its fighters confronted Israeli forces during the raid and that they targeted an Israeli military vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The Israeli army's radio confirmed that one Israeli soldier was wounded.

Yepp, Local made

Lion’s Den operatives detonate an IED on the Israeli occupation forces vehicles whilst withdrawing from the city of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/jZo0b3KH7t

— Younis | يونس (@ytirawi) May 9, 2023

"The occupation forces withdrew through the eastern part of the city, where young Palestinians threw stones at them on their way out," Ameen Abu Wardeh, a local journalist and resident of Nablus, told TNA.

"It was during the occupation's withdrawal that most of the injuries happened, all of them civilians, including a 14-year-old schoolboy who was hit in the chest," Abu Wardeh added. 

Nablus, West Bank

A girl was going to her school in Nablus this morning before the occupation forces frightened the death out of here and changed her course.
pic.twitter.com/b8P4qTLicb

— Younis | يونس (@ytirawi) May 9, 2023

Israeli forces' attack on Nablus came a few hours after a series of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that killed 13 Palestinians, including four children and four women. Both Palestinian and Israeli reports confirmed that the victims were three Palestinian leaders from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad - PIJ along with their families.

Israeli forces had killed three Palestinians in Nablus' old city less than a week ago, and two other Palestinians in Toulkarm during the weekend.

Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces have killed 126 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, which is more than double the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during the same period in 2022.