Israel forces kill three Palestinians in latest West Bank raids amid Gaza war

Israeli forces on Sunday killed three Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli killings of Palestinians have increased since Tel Aviv launched its ongoing brutal bombardment of Gaza.

Two men, aged 22 and 20, were killed "in an attack by Israeli occupation forces on Abu Dis", a suburb of annexed east Jerusalem separated by the Israeli wall encircling the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

One of the two was fatally shot in the chest, while "six others were wounded, three seriously", according to a ministry statement.

Eyewitnesses said that a large contingent of the Israeli army stormed the town and laid siege to a house, triggering confrontations in the area. The situation then escalated when Israeli troops forces deployed a bulldozer and began demolishing parts of the besieged house, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

Hundreds of Palestinians perform funeral prayer for slain teenager Musa Zarour, murdered by Israeli occupation forces this morning in the town of Abu Dis, east of occupied Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/pTyNKFXE48

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) November 5, 2023

Further south, a 22-year-old Palestinian was "killed by Israeli occupation bullets in Nuba, northwest of Hebron," the ministry said.

The victims were identified as Nabil Halabia, Musa Diaa Zarour, and Ahmed Dababseh.

Footage shared online Israeli forces confiscating and subsequently taking away Halabia's body, in another act of violence.

Contacted by AFP, the Israeli army said they were "looking into the reports" on Abu Dis and Nuba.

The ministry also said that a 17-year-old Palestinian died after being shot several days ago by Israeli security forces in Al-Eizariya, also on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

The teenager was named as Rami Izz Odeh.

Since 7 October, at least 152 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces amid illegal raids and settler attacks in the West Bank, where anger has erupted over Tel Aviv's brutal onslaught of Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Israel's nearly month-long bombardment of the Gaza Strip has killed almost 10,000 people. Israel launched its onslaught on Gaza after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people.

Israeli forces have arrested more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank in that time, the army said.

Before 7 October, Israel had already been conducting deadly raids on the West Bank on almost a daily basis.