A 20-year-old Israeli soldier was killed during a military operation in Jenin in the northern Samaria early Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed. The soldier, whose identity has not yet been released for publication, was killed during an exchange of fire with ‘Palestinian’ gunmen in the Jenin refugee camp. Several other soldiers were wounded in the incident.
1+The IDF said the operation was aimed at apprehending wanted terror suspects in the camp. During the raid, Israeli forces came under heavy fire from multiple directions.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, evacuated the wounded soldiers to hospitals in northern Israel. Their conditions were not immediately disclosed.
The military said forces are still operating in the area and searching for the gunmen who opened fire on the troops.
1+Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp have been a flashpoint of violence over the past year, with the IDF conducting near-daily raids to arrest suspected militants and seize weapons. ‘Palestinian’ gunmen have frequently ambushed Israeli forces during these operations.
The soldier’s death brings the number of Israeli security personnel killed in Judea and Samaria this year to several dozen, though exact figures were not provided by the military.