U.S. activist killed by Israeli army in northern West Bank

A U.S. activist was killed by Israeli army gunfire in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, according to Palestinian official sources on Friday.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, a U.S. activist of Turkish descent, was identified as the victim. Director of Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, Fouad Naffa, reported that Eygi was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to the head, and brain tissue was visible. Medical teams performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for a few minutes, but she died due to severe injuries.

Palestinian local sources informed Xinhua that Eygi was shot during "the Israeli army's suppression of the weekly march" in Beita, which was held to protest settlement expansion.

According to the sources, the Israeli army used live ammunition, sound bombs and tear gas against the participants. In addition to the U.S. activist, an 18-year-old man was injured by live ammunition fragments in the thigh.

According to sources, Eygi was volunteering with the "Fazaa" campaign, which aims to support and protect Palestinian farmers from the Israeli army and settlers.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that "during Israeli security forces' activity adjacent to the area of Beita, the forces responded with fire toward a main instigator of violent activity who hurled rocks at the forces and posed a threat to them."

"The IDF is looking into reports that a foreign national was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review," it added.

"We are deeply disturbed by the tragic death of an American citizen, Aysenur Egzi Eygi, today in the West Bank, and our hearts go out to her family and loved ones," the White House said in a statement.

"We have reached out to the government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident," the statement said.

The Israeli army withdrew from the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday after a 10-day operation that left 21 people dead, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources.

During the operation, Israeli forces caused significant damage to infrastructure and residential buildings, leading to power, communication and internet outages in large areas of the city, Palestinian security sources said.

The Palestinian Civil Defense announced that more than 25 kilometers of streets and neighborhoods in Jenin and its camp were completely destroyed by the army's operation, according to initial damage assessments.

Meanwhile, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that the army had eliminated "terrorists" during the operation, arresting over 40 suspects, seizing 24 weapons, and destroying dozens of explosive devices.

However, Israeli security sources told the broadcaster that the operation is not over, and "we will soon return to Jenin and other places."

On Thursday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 39 Palestinians had been killed and about 150 others injured in the West Bank since the start of the Israeli military operation on August 28.

In Gaza, at least 10 Palestinians were killed in Israeli bombings targeting two residential houses on Friday, according to Palestinian sources.

Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that Israeli aircraft struck a house located west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Medical sources reported that the airstrike killed five people, with several still trapped under the rubble.

Also on Friday, the Palestinian Civil Defense reported that five people were killed and several others injured in an Israeli bombing of a home in central Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Israeli warplanes carried out intensive raids on Hezbollah missile platforms in southern Lebanon on Friday night, according to Lebanese military sources.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, told Xinhua that several Israeli warplanes conducted 15 airstrikes in less than half an hour, targeting the valleys between the village of Froun, the municipality of Ghandourieh, and the town of Srifa in the western and central sectors.

The planes fired about 30 air-to-ground missiles at Hezbollah missile platforms, causing several massive fires, the sources added.

"Civil defense vehicles and ambulances were unable to reach the targeted areas due to the intensive flying of Israeli drones in their airspace and the rubble caused by the raids on the roads leading to them," said the sources.

The Public Health Emergency Operations Center, affiliated with the Ministry of Public Health, reported that Israeli artillery shelling injured one person and caused another to suffocate.

The military sources revealed that the Lebanese army monitored the launch of dozens of Katyusha and Burkan rockets, as well as a group of drones, from the Lebanese side towards the Israeli side.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced in statements that its fighters conducted several offensive operations on sites in northern Israel, "causing confirmed casualties."

(With input from Xinhua)