Israeli Police Officer, 19, Killed During Operation in Jenin as Violence in West Bank Escalates

An Israeli border police officer was killed during an overnight operation in the northern West Bank’s Jenin.

Shay Germay, a 19-year-old Sgt from Karmiel, was in a vehicle hit by a roadside bomb during the raid, in which six Palestinians were killed, The Times of Israel reported. The Israeli police said that three other officers were wounded.

Violence in the West Bank

Violence in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s war with Gaza-based Hamas militants has surged to levels unseen in nearly two decades. Israeli forces carry out regular raids in the occupied territory, especially in the militant stronghold of Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp.

“An Israeli occupation bombardment on a group of citizens killed six people in Jenin,” said the Palestinian Authority-run Ministry of Health, which is based in Ramallah. It was not immediately clear whether the six Palestinians and the Israeli officer were killed during the same operation.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported early Sunday that a major deployment of Israeli forces was underway in Jenin. It said the six Palestinians, including four brothers, were killed in an “Israeli drone strike” in Jenin.

Israeli army raids on the Jenin area often trigger gun battles between troops and Palestinian militants. The army says it is targeting “terrorists” in its raids, but the Palestinian health ministry says many civilians are among the dead. Israel has occupied the West Bank since a war with Arab states in 1967.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 at least 327 people in the West Bank have been killed by either soldiers or Israeli settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people. Israel is carrying out a relentless bombardment and ground invasion that have killed at least 22,722 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the territory.

(With agency inputs)