Emergency responders in the West Bank have rescued two children from the rubble of a house detonated by Israeli forces in Jenin after they were stuck there for two days, Palestinian authorities said on Tuesday.
A search operation was launched after cries for help coming from the collapsed building had been heard, the civil defence said.
Rescue forces are still searching for the children’s mother and another child.
The Israeli military on Sunday blew up several houses in Jenin, considered a stronghold of Palestinian militants, saying they had been used by terrorists.
Israeli soldiers killed in attack
Two Israeli soldiers and a gunman were killed in an exchange of fire in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s military said.
Eight other soldiers were injured in the incident, two of them seriously, at a checkpoint near the village of Tayasir in the northern West Bank.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that a gunman had opened fire at the soldiers staffing the checkpoint.
“A terrorist fired at soldiers at a military post in the area of Tayasir. The soldiers eliminated the terrorist during exchanges of fire,” the IDF said.
Israeli media reported that the Palestinian gunman surprised the soldiers at dawn after sneaking into the site unnoticed.
Jenin residents flee attacks
Almost all the residents have left Jenin because of Israel’s fierce attacks on militant Palestinians, the United Nations reported on Tuesday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said around 30,000 people have sought refuge in the surrounding area. However, sources within the district gave lower estimates of the number of displaced residents, putting the number of people remaining there at around 1,000.
The Israeli army did not initially comment on the report.
An UNRWA spokeswoman said around 100 buildings in the district were destroyed or severely damaged by powerful detonations on Sunday.
Jenin is considered a stronghold of militant Palestinians. On January 21 Israel launched Iron Wall, its largest military operation there in years.
The Israelis said around 50 militants have been killed in airstrikes in the past few days. More than 100 suspects have been arrested, dozens of weapons seized and hundreds of explosive devices destroyed, they said.
According to Palestinian information, civilians are also among the dead.
Israel took over the West Bank and East Jerusalem following the Six-Day War in 1967. Today, around 700,000 Israeli settlers live there among 3 million Palestinians. The Palestinians claim the territories are a state of their own, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
