Palestinian teen among 5 killed in Israeli airstrikes on West Bank, health ministry says

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RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A 16-year-old Palestinian boy was among five killed on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as a large-scale Israeli military operation there looks set to continue for a third week.

The Israeli military began raiding the city in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21, just two days after a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas came into effect.

Hundreds of Israeli soldiers, backed by the air force, have since engaged in gun battles with Palestinian militants in Jenin as they search for military weapons and equipment, Israel says.

Asked whether a teenage boy had been killed in an airstrike, the Israeli military said the air force had struck “armed terrorists” in the Jenin area, declining further comment.

The Palestinian health ministry later said four others had been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Jenin area. The Israeli military said in statement the air force had struck a vehicle “with terrorists inside” in the area of Jenin’s Qabatiya.

At least 18 Palestinians, including six members of armed militant groups and a two-year-old girl, have been killed in Jenin and nearby villages during the operation, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israeli military said forces had killed at least 18 militants and detained 60 wanted individuals, dismantling more than 100 explosive devices and seizing a weapons-making workshop.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said the country’s enemy Iran smuggles weapons to West Bank militants and that the military is acting against the “Iranian axis”.

Israel has not recently released any evidence to support its claims, and while Western officials do say Iran is smuggling weapons into the West Bank, some dispute how substantial it is.

In Jenin, dozens of houses have been demolished and roads in the refugee camp there have been dug up by armored Israeli bulldozers, driving thousands of people from their homes.

Water has been cut and Palestinian officials say that at least 80% of the camp’s inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday the military would stay in Jenin until the military operation is complete, without saying when that would be.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Alexander Cornwell in Jerusalem; Editing by Jan Harvey and Daniel Wallis)