According to Palestinian authorities, an Israeli army assault on a refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem resulted in the death of a Palestinian man who was standing on the top of his house.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Sameer Aslan, 41, was shot in the chest in the Qalandiya refugee camp and was declared dead at daybreak on Thursday.
Officials informed that Aslan, a father of eight children, was killed by an Israeli sniper while watching the raid on their home's roof with other family members.
He was assassinated around ten minutes after the Israeli army had taken their 17-year-old son Ramzi into custody.
According to Zakariya Fayyaleh, a representative of the Palestinian Authority, which oversees the camp, after the arrest, "the entire family walked up to the roof to check what was happening when they heard loud cries and that one of their other kids was hurt," she said.
He said that Sameer was wounded in the chest by an Israeli sniper when the family was on the top, together with his wife, three daughters, and many boys.
"His sons attempted to transport him to the hospital by carrying him down. They were halted by a sizable army force, which then forced Sameer to the ground. He died as soon as we got to the hospital, said Fayyaleh, "because they kept him bleeding on the ground for a time before letting us carry him again.
Aslan is seen lying on the ground surrounded by Israeli forces in videos posted by locals and local media sites and confirmed by Al Jazeera.
In addition, Fayyaleh said that Aslan worked at a butcher shop in the village of al-Ram. "Sameer was one of my closest friends, I had a brotherly bond with him," she claimed.
The official continued, calling it a "frenzied and furious assault," that the Israeli army had conducted when it attacked the Qalandiya refugee camp.
It's the first time they've attacked the camp with this much force and with as many houses as they did. He said, "They molested women, they ruined people's property, and they set up snipers on roofs."
According to Fayyaleh and the Palestinian Prisoners' Society, during the raid, Israeli soldiers detained at least 18 individuals from the camp (PPS).
Numerous armored vehicles and special personnel participated in the operation, which got underway at about 3 am local time (00:00 GMT). Stone-throwing youngsters caused scuffles to break out.
In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that the operation on the camp was a component of their "Break the Wave" campaign. Without confirming the fatality, it stated that during the operation "suspects hurled stones and cement blocks from the rooftops of the homes at the forces in a fashion that threatened the lives of the fighters," adding that "one injury was observed."
The Qalandiya neighborhood is part of the Jerusalem governorate, but Israel's Separation Wall, whose construction started in 2002, divides it from the city.
The 1949-built refugee camp is now located in East Jerusalem and Area C and is completely under Israeli military authority.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Israeli army has murdered seven Palestinians, including three children. Aslan is the latest. In less than 24 hours, he is also the third Palestinian dead.
Sanad Samamreh, 18, was murdered by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday night after he reportedly carried out a stabbing assault in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron.
Ahmad Abu Junaid, age 21, was killed by gunfire earlier that day by the army during a raid on the Balata refugee camp in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank.
The changes are the outcome of a nearly one-year-old Israeli military assault that has seen increased raids and deaths.
The Israeli army conducted an early-morning attack on Nablus on Thursday, which included the Old City. The health ministry reports that Israeli live fire has reportedly wounded at least seven Palestinians.
The year 2022, according to the United Nations, was the bloodiest for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2006.
Last year, there were over 30 children among the deaths, and at least 9,000 additional Palestinians suffered injuries.
Israeli troops have also murdered uninvolved onlookers, people who confronted them during raids, and Palestinian combatants during armed encounters and targeted killings.
