Israeli Forces Raid West Bank Towns, Strike Southern Lebanon and Syria
RAMALLAH (Dispatches) --
Israeli forces kidnapped at least five Palestinians, including a journalist, during overnight and early Sunday raids across the West Bank, according to local sources and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
In Burqin, west of Jenin, soldiers raided the home of journalist Muhammed Ateeq and detained him.
In Nablus, forces stormed the Balata refugee camp and the eastern part of the city, abducting two brothers—Maher and Salam Abu Amer—and assaulting four Palestinians, who were taken to hospital.
Israeli forces also abducted two brothers ploughing their land in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron (Al-Khalil) and confiscated their tractor.
In Beit Ummar, north of Hebron (Al-Khalil), Israeli forces imposed a curfew, forced shops to close, fired stun grenades and tear gas, and sealed off all entrances to the town.
In the village of Rummana, west of Jenin, a Palestinian kiosk caught fire after Israeli forces fired grenades. Settlers attacked a home in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, and smashed two vehicles.
A separate report said Israeli forces raided a wedding hall in al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, abducted the groom and three other Palestinians, searched female guests, and confiscated gold jewelry.
In Jaba, south of Jenin, a 27-year-old Palestinian was shot in the thigh during confrontations after Israeli forces stormed the town.
In Lebanon, Israeli warplanes struck Kfar Tibnit in the Nabatieh district on Sunday, while an Israeli D9 bulldozer and several vehicles advanced towards the outskirts of Kfar Shuba in the Azrael area.
Israeli forces carried out a two-stage demolition in the village of Hadatha in the Bint Jbeil district, and a Merkava tank targeted the same village.
Israeli artillery shelled Mayfadoun, Kfar Tibnit, Rshaf, the outskirts of Haris, Haddatha, Shaqra, Braasheet, Wadi Hujeir, the Khiam plain, Majdal Selm, Zibqine, and Mansouri.
Overnight, Israeli warplanes struck the vicinity of Qantara and a house near the religious seminary in Aita al-Jabal, and conducted two strikes on the outskirts of Qabrikha toward Wadi Hujeir, targeting a house and an olive press.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, Israeli attacks have killed 4,390 people and wounded 12,429 since March 2, with the total death toll since October 2023 reaching 8,957 as of November 5.
In Syria, an Israeli military force comprising several tanks crossed through the Abu al-Ghaithar gate towards the outskirts of Wadi al-Raqqad in the western Dara’a countryside on Sunday morning, and one of the tanks opened heavy machine-gun fire on agricultural land and open fields, according to the Syrian news agency SANA.
The incident is part of continued Israeli violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, including repeated military incursions into southern Syria, raids on civilian homes, kidnappings, land clearing operations, and shelling.
On Saturday, an Israeli force also penetrated the village of al-Mushayrifa in the central Quneitra countryside and shelled land east of al-Asbah village in the southern Quneitra countryside.