12 Palestinians Killed in Israel's 2-day West Bank Operation

Palestinian doctors and hospital staff react during the funeral of Dr. Osayd Kamal Jabaren at Jenin Hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, 23 May 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Palestinian doctors and hospital staff react during the funeral of Dr. Osayd Kamal Jabaren at Jenin Hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, 23 May 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
TT

12 Palestinians Killed in Israel's 2-day West Bank Operation

Palestinian doctors and hospital staff react during the funeral of Dr. Osayd Kamal Jabaren at Jenin Hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, 23 May 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Palestinian doctors and hospital staff react during the funeral of Dr. Osayd Kamal Jabaren at Jenin Hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin, 23 May 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

The Israeli military said Thursday it has completed a two-day operation in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinian Health Ministry says killed 12 Palestinians and wounded 25.
Israel launched the operation Tuesday in the city of Jenin and an adjacent urban refugee camp as part of a crackdown against militants in the area. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said its fighters battled the Israeli forces.
Militant groups claimed at least eight of the dead as fighters: one from Hamas and seven from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. Islamic Jihad group said an unspecified number of its fighters were killed.
Among those killed was a surgeon at a local hospital, according to Wissam Abu Baker, the director of Jenin Governmental Hospital. The surgeon was killed on his way to work, Abu Baker said.
Israel did not immediately disclose additional details about the operation.
Jenin and the adjacent urban refugee camp have long been a bastion of armed struggle against Israel’s occupation, and the frequency of raids by Israeli troops has increased during the war in Gaza.



Hamas Response to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal ‘Consistent’ with Principles of US Plan, Leader Says

Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)
TT

Hamas Response to Gaza Ceasefire Proposal ‘Consistent’ with Principles of US Plan, Leader Says

Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza strip, 16 June 2024. (EPA)

Hamas' response to the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal is consistent with the principles put forward in US President Joe Biden's plan, the group's Qatar-based leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a televised speech on the occasion of the Islamic Eid al-Adha on Sunday.

"Hamas and the (Palestinian) groups are ready for a comprehensive deal which entails a ceasefire, withdrawal from the strip, the reconstruction of what was destroyed and a comprehensive swap deal," Haniyeh said, referring to the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

On May 31, Biden laid out what he called a "three-phase" Israeli proposal that would include negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza as well as phased exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Egypt and Qatar - which along with the United States have been mediating between Hamas and Israel - said on June 11 that they had received a response from the Palestinian groups to the US plan, without giving further details.

While Israel said Hamas rejected key elements of the US plan, a senior Hamas leader told Reuters that the changes the group requested were "not significant".