Ministry of Health: 6 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Jenin

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported early Sunday that an Israeli airstrike killed six Palestinians in Jenin in the West Bank. The ministry stated in a brief announcement that the strike targeted a gathering of citizens in Jenin. Secretary of State Blinken began a week-long visit to the region on Saturday, aimed at calming tensions that have escalated since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement (Hamas). Palestinian officials say the retaliatory Israeli attack resulted in the deaths of 22,700 Palestinians, and the conflict has spread to the West Bank, Lebanon, and shipping routes in the Red Sea. The West Bank has already witnessed the highest levels of violence in decades over the past eighteen months preceding Hamas's attack on Israel, but confrontations sharply escalated with the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers in recent weeks, and security forces have arrested thousands. Blinken's tour, which began with meetings with the leaders of Turkey and Greece, will include several Arab countries as well as Israel and the West Bank.