Several killed in Israeli raid in West Bank

Oct. 25 (UPI) -- At least four Palestinians were killed in a raid conducted early Tuesday by Israeli forces on a West Bank city, officials said.

In announcing the death toll, the Palestinian Health Ministry said another 21 people were injured, including four seriously, official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the raid in a statement, saying security forces converged on a "hideout apartment" in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military described the location as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site of the Lion's Den terrorist group, which it said was behind the attack that killed IDF Staff Sgt. Ido Baruch earlier this month.

During the raid, Israeli forces shot and hit "multiple armed suspects" the IDF said, without giving a death toll but acknowledging that Palestinian reports stating that several people were injured.

It added that dozens of Palestinians burned tires and hurled rocks at the soldiers during the raid.

"The troops responded with live fire toward the armed suspects shooting at them," it said.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the goal of the raid was to deal "a severe and lasting blow to terrorism."

"We will not let up for a moment," he said in a statement. "We will not allow the existence of terrorist organizations that harm Israeli citizens and IDF forces."

Lapid also identified one of the slain Palestinians as Wadih Al Houh, the head of the terrorist organization.

"This is a precise and deadly blow to the heart of a terrorist infrastructure that tries to carry out attacks," he said.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the assault on Nablus was a war crime for which the Israeli government bears full responsibility for, Wafa reported.

"Israel must immediately halt its crimes," he said, while urging the United States to intervene. "We are facing an apartheid state."

The Israeli military has accused the Lion's Den of killing 21-year-old Baruch on Oct. 11 in an attack by the community of Shavei Shomron. It also said the terrorist organization has attempted attacks on Tel Aviv and other cities.

"Recently, this terrorist group has continued to recruit, plan and carry out attacks aimed against innocent Israeli civilians," the IDF said.