Six dead in airstrike on Jenin, Palestinian health ministry reports, as Israel said its aircraft fired on militants who had attacked troops
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The Israeli military has signalled a shift away from its focus in northern Gaza, saying it has finished dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure there.
Its spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said on Saturday night its forces would “continue to deepen the achievement” there, AP reports, adding that they would strengthen defences along the Israel-Gaza border fence and focus on the central and southern parts of the territory.
Israel said its aircraft fired on Palestinian militants who had attacked troops in the city of Jenin, while the Palestinian ministry said the strike targeted people who had gathered at the site, and eyewitnesses said the attack happened as Israeli forces were withdrawing.
“One of the martyrs was decapitated,” Mujahid Nazzal, a Palestinian doctor and first responder at the scene, told Reuters. “It seemed the missile directly hit him. Others had their limbs severed. A seventh person was seriously injured and taken by the ambulance.”
Another witness, Ahmed Suleiman, said, “The air strike happened at the entrance of Jenin in an area called Martyr’s Triangle. You can see the effects of the missile. Blood and body parts scattered everywhere.”
Four of those killed were brothers, according to family members.
An Israeli border police officer was killed and others wounded when their vehicle was hit by an explosive device during operations in Jenin, the Israeli military and police said.
A helicopter helped rescue them with covering fire, the military said, adding that an aircraft fired at a “terrorist squad that hurled explosives and endangered our forces, a number of terrorists were killed.”
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