Israeli Forces Kill 4 Palestinians in West Bank Clashes

The Palestinian news and information agency "Wafa" reported that "the Israeli army killed four Palestinians during raids in the West Bank on Friday." The Islamic Jihad and Hamas movements announced that two of the deceased belonged to them. The Israeli army stated that "its forces came under attack during arrest operations in the West Bank in the city of Jenin and retaliated by opening fire, resulting in the death of Aysar Al-Amar, a leader in the Jenin Brigade affiliated with the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad." The Islamic Jihad movement confirmed Al-Amar's affiliation with them. Hamas also stated that one of its fighters, Jawad Al-Turki, was killed during the clash in Jenin. Wafa mentioned that "the two men and another Palestinian were killed in Jenin, and a fourth was killed in the town of Qalqilya in the West Bank," stating that "the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the outbreak of the conflict between Hamas and Israel has reached 110, in addition to more than 1,900 injuries." The army indicated that "its forces came under gunfire in Qalqilya while closing a shop whose owner was accused of inciting violence," adding that "the forces retaliated with gunfire and shot at least one person." In related news, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced today that "at least 7,326 Palestinians have been killed, including 3,038 children, in the Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip since October 7." Additionally, the Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted a member of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" delegation visiting Moscow as saying that the Israeli bombing of Gaza resulted in the deaths of 50 of the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. The newspaper reported him saying that Hamas cannot release the hostages until a ceasefire agreement is reached and that it needs time to locate the captives in Gaza.