RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army holds the bodies of five Palestinians killed during its military operation in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.

The Palestine News Agency, WAFA, quoted unnamed security sources who confirmed “the martyrdom of 5 young men during the ongoing Israeli aggression on Nur Shams camp, for the third consecutive day.”

Sources said that “the occupation authorities informed them of holding the bodies of Alaa Abdel Rahim, Jaafar Omar, Ahmed Shahada, Omar Abu al-Rub, and Ali Abdullah, without any information about the circumstances of their martyrdom.”

The agency said that “with the martyrdom of the 5 young men, the number of martyrs in the camp (since Thursday) rises to 7, including the martyr child Qais Fathi Nasrallah (15 years old) who was transferred yesterday (Friday) to the hospital, and the martyr Salim Faisal Ghanem (30 years old), who is still held in one of the camp's houses.”

It raises the number of bodies held by Israel since 2015 to 253, according to the National Campaign for Retrieving the Bodies of Martyrs.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams are trying to reach those who are injured in the Nur Shams camp but “the occupation forces prevent them and ask them to leave the area.

It said the army detained one of its ambulance crews in Tulkarm and Israeli forces are holding two crew members at the entrance of the Thabet Thabet hospital in Tulkarm “while they are performing their humanitarian duty.”

WAFA said 12 injuries with live ammunition and severe beatings arrived at Thabet Thabet government hospital and the specialized Israa hospital in Tulkarm, with injuries ranging from mild to moderate.

For the third consecutive day, the army continued operations in the Nur Shams camp, after deploying additional military reinforcements to the city and its camp early Saturday, amid a campaign of arrests among Palestinians.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala