Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank refugee camp

Jerusalem: Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in a dawn raid on Tuesday on a refugee camp near the city of Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian and Israeli officials said.

Khawla Abdo, a 53-year-old woman, was killed as a result of shelling by Israeli forces, while Fathi Saeed Odeh Salem, an 18-year-old man, was shot in the abdomen and chest, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Israeli military said earlier it killed one Palestinian in a "counter-terrorism" operation in Tulkarm, while its forces arrested 18 other wanted individuals and confiscated dozens of weapons.

Hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed in the West Bank since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza and a wider conflict on several fronts.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Israeli forces prevented ambulance crews from reaching Salem by opening fire on him.

Bulldozers also demolished infrastructure in Tulkarm camp, including homes, shops, part of the walls of Al-Salam mosque, which they barricaded off, and part of the camp's water network, it said.