Ramallah, occupied West Bank – The Israeli army killed a Palestinian while he was standing on the roof of his house during a raid on a refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian officials.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced, at dawn today, Thursday, that Samir Aslan, 41, died in the chest in the Qalandia refugee camp.
Officials told Al Jazeera that Aslan, a father of eight, was shot by an Israeli sniper while he was standing with other family members on the roof of their home watching the strike.
He was killed about 10 minutes after the Israeli army arrested his 17-year-old son, Ramzi, from their home.
After the arrest, “the whole family went up to the roof to see what was happening when they heard loud screams and that one of their other sons was injured,” Zakaria Fialeh, an official with the Palestinian Authority, which runs the camp, told Al Jazeera.
He continued, “Samir, his wife, three of his daughters, and a number of sons were on the roof when an Israeli sniper opened fire on the family and shot Samir directly in the chest.”
His sons picked him up and tried to take him to the hospital. A large army force stopped them and threw Samir to the ground. They left him bleeding on the floor for a while before they let us take him again – he died on arrival at the hospital.
Videos released by residents and local media, which have been verified by Al Jazeera, show Aslan lying on the ground surrounded by Israeli soldiers.
“Samir was one of my closest friends, and I had a brotherly relationship with him,” Fayalah said, adding that Aslan was working in a butcher shop in the town of Al-Ram.
The official added that the manner in which the Israeli army stormed the Qalandia refugee camp was “unprecedented,” describing it as a “frenzied and ferocious attack.”
It’s the first time they’ve raided the camp in this way – the size of the force and the number of homes they’ve raided. They destroyed people’s property – even assaulted women,” he said, adding that snipers were stationed on rooftops.
Israeli forces arrested at least 18 people from the camp during the raid, according to Al Fayalah and the Palestinian Prisoners Association.
The raid began at around 3 am local time (00:00 GMT) and involved dozens of armored vehicles and special forces. Clashes broke out with the youths throwing stones.
The Israeli army said in a statment The raid on the camp came as part of its “breaking the wave” campaign. It said that during the raid, “the suspects threw stones and cement blocks from the rooftops at the troops in a way that endangered the lives of the fighters, who responded by dispersing the demonstrations and shooting,” adding that “an injury was detected.” without confirmation of death.
Qalandiya is located within the Jerusalem Governorate, but it was separated from the city by the Israeli separation wall – construction of which began in 2002.
The refugee camp, built in 1949, is now located in East Jerusalem and Area C, under full Israeli military control.
Aslan is the seventh Palestinian killed by the Israeli army since the beginning of 2023, including three children. He is also the third Palestinian killed in less than 24 hours.
On Wednesday evening, Israeli forces killed Sanad Samra, 18, after he carried out a stabbing attack in the city of Hebron, south of the occupied West Bank.
Earlier that day, the army shot dead Ahmed Abu Junaid, 21, during a raid on the Balata refugee camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.
These developments come as a result of the continuation of the Israeli military campaign of intensive raids and killings, which lasted for nearly a year.
The occupation forces stormed, at dawn today, Thursday, the city of Nablus, including the Old City. The Ministry of Health stated that at least seven Palestinians were injured by live Israeli fire.
The United Nations said 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2006.
More than 30 children were among the dead last year, and at least 9,000 other Palestinians were injured.
Israeli forces killed civilians who were confronting them during raids, and killed uninvolved bystanders, as well as Palestinian militants in targeted assassinations and during armed clashes.
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