Israel Army Raids West Bank Town Tel Aviv Gunmen Hailed From

Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP
Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP
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Israel Army Raids West Bank Town Tel Aviv Gunmen Hailed From

Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP
Israeli troops take position in the Nur Shams Palestinian refugee camp in the northern West Bank on April 10 JAAFAR ASHTIYEH AFP

Israeli soldiers on Sunday launched a new raid into the flashpoint West Bank district of Jenin, the home of gunmen who launched recent deadly attacks in the Tel Aviv area.

At least 10 people were wounded in clashes in Jenin as well as in Jericho and Tulkarem, the Palestinian health ministry said Sunday, while the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced 24 arrests in various West Bank cities.

"Troops are currently operating in the city of Jenin," in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said in a brief message, AFP reported.

The military operation came after a gunman from Jenin went on a shooting rampage in a popular Tel Aviv nightlife area on Thursday evening, killing three Israelis and wounding more than a dozen others.

Israel said Friday it had killed the alleged attacker, Raad Hazem, 28.

A total of 14 people have been killed in four attacks in Israel since March 22, including another shooting spree in Bnei Brak, an Orthodox Jewish city near Tel Aviv.

Some have been carried out by assailants linked to or inspired by ISIS.

Over the same period, at least 10 Palestinians have been killed, including assailants.

"We will do whatever it takes, whatever is necessary, for however long and wherever needed, until both safety and the sense of security are restored," army chief Aviv Kochavi told soldiers in a video released by the military.

The Israeli army and border police had previously raided the Jenin refugee camp on Saturday, killing a 25-year-old Palestinian member of Islamic Jihad, the main Palestinian armed Islamist movement besides Hamas, in heavy gun battles.

Israel has also restricted access to Jenin, closed Israeli crossings and stepped up security checks.

The new operation comes ahead of the funerals of the three Israeli civilians killed in Tel Aviv on Thursday night -- childhood friends Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini, and father-of-three Barak Lufan -- which are expected later on Sunday in the town of Kfar Saba and at the kibbutz of Ginosar.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad welcomed that attack, which was condemned by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

The recent violence has come amid heightened tensions during Ramadan, after violence flared during the Muslim holy month last year leading to 11 days of devastating conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Following Thursday's attack, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett gave security agencies "full freedom" to end the deadly violence that has surged since March 22 "in order to defeat terror".

"There are not and will not be limits for this war," Bennett said.



International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Meets with Syrian Leader in Damascus

This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Meets with Syrian Leader in Damascus

This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
This handout picture released by the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, shows Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) meeting with International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan in Damascus on January 17, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan made an unannounced visit Friday to Damascus to confer with the leader of Syria’s de facto government on how to ensure accountability for alleged crimes committed in the country.

Khan's office said he visited at the invitation of Syria’s transitional government. He met with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration and the foreign minister to discuss options for justice in The Hague for victims of the country's civil war, which has left more than half a million dead and more than six million people displaced.

Assad, who fled to Russia in December, waged an oppressive campaign against anyone who opposed him during his more than two decades in power.

Rights groups estimate at least 150,000 people went missing after anti-government protests began in 2011, most vanishing into Assad’s prison network. Many of them were killed, either in mass executions or from torture and prison conditions. The exact number remains unknown.

The global chemical weapons watchdog found Syrian forces were responsible for multiple attacks using chlorine gas and other banned substances against civilians.

Other groups have also been accused of human rights violations and war crimes during the country’s civil war.

The new authorities have called for members of the Assad regime to be brought to justice. It is unclear how exactly that would work at this stage.

Syria is not a member of the ICC, which has left the court without the ability to investigate the war. In 2014, Russia and China blocked a referral by the United Nations Security Council which would have given the court jurisdiction. Similar referrals were made for Sudan and Libya.

Khan's visit comes after a trip to Damascus last month by the UN organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria. The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria was created to assist in evidence-gathering and prosecution of individuals responsible for possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide since Syria’s civil war began in 2011.

The group's head, Robert Petit, highlighted the urgency of preserving documents and other evidence before they are lost.