In fresh offensive, Israeli forces kill 9 in West Bank
RAMALLA (West Bank), March 21
Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, increasing to nine the number of Palestinians killed in the territory over 24 hours, a Palestinian news agency reported.
Since the Gaza war began, Israel has stepped up military raids in the West Bank, where violence had already been surging for over a year. UN records show Israeli forces or settlers have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the West bank since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
A 19-year-old Palestinian died after being shot by Israeli forces in El Bireh near Ramallah on Thursday morning, the Palestinian health ministry said. The agency said he was wounded during confrontations with Israeli forces.
South of Bethlehem, Israeli forces shot dead a 63-year-old Palestinian near settlement of El’azar, it reported.
The Israeli military said soldiers had fired shots towards “a Palestinian who aroused their suspicion at the El’azar Junction”. “A hit was identified and he was later pronounced dead,” it said, adding that military police had opened an investigation into the incident.
Israeli forces also killed four Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarm overnight, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
In Gaza, Israel’s offensive focused on the Al Shifa hospital. Israel said its troops had killed more than 50 Hamas gunmen over the previous day, taking those killed around the hospital to 140, along with two Israeli soldiers.— Reuters
Blinken holds truce talks in Cairo
Cairo: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Thursday as part of talks to seek a ceasefire in Gaza, as a minister said Israel would fight on “even if the entire world turns on Israel”. In Gaza itself, Israel’s offensive focused on the Al Shifa hospital, the only partially working medical facility in the north of the Strip, for a fourth day
