Israeli troops in disguise conduct deadly raid at West Bank hospital

Israeli commandos disguised as medical workers and Muslim women burst into a hospital in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday and killed three Palestinian militants, witnesses and authorities said.

The Israeli military said the three militants were killed in a joint undercover operation by the army, Shin Bet security service and border police in the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin.

The Israeli military identified one of the slain men as Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, from Jenin, who it said had contacts with Hamas headquarters abroad and was planning an attack inspired by the Hamas rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

The military said the two others, the brothers Basel Al-Ghazzawi and Mohammad Al-Ghazzawi, belonged to the Jenin Brigade and the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli military said this showed that militants were using civilian areas and hospitals as shelters and "human shields." Hamas has previously denied such allegations.

While the West Bank — an area that Palestinians envisage as part of a hoped-for independent state — had seen increased violence even before the outbreak of the Gaza war, the hospital raid could fuel a more intense phase of unrest.

CCTV footage from the hospital showed a group of about 10 people, dressed variously in civilian clothes and medical garb and including three in headscarves and women's clothing, pacing through a corridor, armed with assault rifles and moving into the hospital.

The hospital's director, Dr. Naji Nazzal said the Israeli team had entered the hospital at around 5.30 a.m. and made its way to the third floor, ringing the bell to enter the ward where the men were sleeping.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the deaths and called on the United Nations to guarantee protection for health centres.

"The occupation is committing a new massacre inside hospitals," it said in a statement.

Palestinian officials say 26,637 people have been killed in the Israeli military response to Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, and at least 65,000 wounded.

Around 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas-led attacks, including several Canadians. Israeli officials said 253 others were taken hostage, with about 130 yet to return home.

Israel says its forces have killed around 9,000 Palestinian combatants in Gaza, and that 221 of its soldiers have been killed in the fighting.

In the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli forces fought battles with Hamas fighters that forced more Palestinian residents to flee to safer areas, and southern parts of the coastal enclave were hit by Israeli