Israeli drone strike in West Bank kills three Palestinians: Officials

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Boys watch the funeral ceremony of three Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike at Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta

Boys at the funeral ceremony of three Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike at Jenin refugee camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct 25.

PHOTO: REUTERS

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israeli forces on an overnight raid in the occupied West Bank came under fire by a group of Palestinians whom the military then hit with a drone, the Israeli military said on Wednesday, and Palestinian officials said three people were killed.

The military said armed Palestinians "fired and hurled explosive devices" at its forces in Jenin refugee camp, in the northern West Bank. The military then struck them with a drone, and "hits were identified", it added.

The drone fired at least two projectiles, the Palestinian Authority's official news agency WAFA said, citing sources in the camp. Three people were killed and more than 20 injured, WAFA said, citing Wissam Bakr, director of Jenin Governmental Hospital.

The West Bank has emerged as another front in Israel's war with Hamas that began after the Islamist militants staged an armed rampage through southern Israel on Oct 7.

Since then, more than 100 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The drone attack was at least the third use of Israeli air power in the West Bank. Jenin refugee camp, a Palestinian militant stronghold, was the focus of a major Israeli military operation earlier this year. REUTERS