Israeli air strike kills 6 Palestinians in West Bank's Jenin

An Israeli air strike killed six Palestinians in Jenin, the Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday, as confrontations continue in the occupied West Bank during a visit to the region by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The strike targeted a gathering of citizens in Jenin, the health ministry added in a brief statement. Palestinian official television said four brothers were among the dead.

Blinken started his week-long trip on Saturday, aimed at calming tension that has spiked since Israel’s war with Hamas began in October.

Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.

Israeli forces search house to house in West Bank city

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 22,700 Palestinians, Palestinian officials say, and the conflict has spilled into the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, and Red Sea shipping lanes.

The occupied West Bank had already experienced its highest levels of unrest in decades during the 18 months before the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, but confrontations have risen sharply as Israeli forces have launched an invasion of Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers over the past weeks and security forces have made thousands of arrests.

Blinken’s tour, which started with meetings with the leaders of Turkiye and Greece, will take him to several Arab states as well as Israel and the occupied West Bank.