Israel announced Wednesday morning the death of the 15th soldier killed in the Jenin camp on Tuesday. The soldier was killed by a bomb detonated near his patrol, Israel Radio reported. Twelve soldiers were injured in the incident, none seriously.
As of Wednesday morning, firefights continued in the heart of the Jenin refugee camp. Palestinian fighters in the camp stated they would rather die than surrender. Israeli troops were firing mortars into the camp early Wednesday and bulldozers were demolishing homes, Israel Radio reported.
The skirmishes came one day after Palestinian resistance in the Jenin camp delivered the bloodiest blow yet to the Israelis since their offensive began. Fourteen soldiers were killed in a carefully timed double ambush Tuesday.
The number of Palestinian casualties was impossible to know, since Israel has closed off the area. There are estimates that more than 150 Palestinians have been killed there.
Palestinian witnesses in Jenin said their dead and injured remain lying in the streets. For its part, the Palestinian leadership said Israel bore "full responsibility" for the escalation in the conflict and accused it of "barbaric murders."
Meanwhile, Israeli forces backed by tanks and helicopters have launched a new assault on a refugee camp in Nablus on the West Bank, Palestinian reports indicated. This attack was the most brutal since the invasion of Israeli tanks to the town a week ago.
Israeli helicopters fired 10 missiles into the camp as tanks opened fire with heavy machine guns.
Loudspeakers called on the men to give themselves up to save their children.
The fresh violence came as Israeli troops launched several grenades near the besieged Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank, where some 200 Palestinian fighters have sought refuge. Some civilians are also trapped inside the church or in adjacent convents, in addition to some 30 Franciscan monks.
Early Wednesday, a series of grenade explosions were heard.
Christian leaders called on Israel to leave Bethlehem after a gunbattle and fire erupted Monday around the church. Some church officials, including a Franciscan friar, angrily accused Israel of provoking the unprecedented violence around the shrine. (Albawaba.com)
