TULKARM, Saturday, May 4, 2024 (WAFA) – The number of Palestinians killed today during the Israeli offensive in the town of Deir al-Ghusoun, north of Tulkarm, has risen to at least three, after the body of two more individuals were recovered from the rubble of the house that had been demolished by Israeli army bulldozers earlier this morning.

As soon as the occupation forces withdrew from the town, citizens, ambulances, and civil defense teams rushed to the destroyed house. They began removing the rubble and searching for any injured or martyrs who might still be trapped beneath the debris.

A video footage circulating on social media showed Israeli occupation forces shooting at two young men while they were trying to get out from under the rubble of the demolished house, which led to their murder. The two remain unidentified so far.

In the meantime, the occupation forces opened heavy gunfire at anyone approaching the place during the offensive, which lasted about 13 hours.

About an hour later, an Israeli army bulldozer retrieved the body of the slain Palestinian from inside the house as the forces embarked on demolishing the house, preventing ambulance teams from reaching the slain youth. He was not yet identified.

WAFA correspondent reported that Israeli bulldozers began demolishing the house early this morning after four hours of tight siege, while imposing a curfew in the surrounding area.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces fired stun grenades and teargas towards a group of journalists while they were covering the events from a building opposite the targeted house. Meanwhile, an Israeli sniper fired at a camera belonging to Al-Arabi TV without reporting any injuries.

The Israeli forces also arrested the homeowner, Salma Bashir Badran, a former prisoner in Israeli jails, after he emerged safe from the rubble. He was subsequently handcuffed, blindfolded, interrogated, and detained.

Earlier in the night, an Israeli special army unit infiltrated the village of Deir al-Ghusun and besieged the house, before deploying large military reinforcements, accompanied by heavy bulldozers.

WAFA correspondent pointed out that the occupation forces imposed a strict military cordon around the house and deployed snipers on the roofs of high-rise buildings in the area, before targeting the house with a barrage of bullets and shoulder-fired missiles, which led to power outages in the vicinity.

She added that the occupation forces uprooted trees and the fences of neighboring houses, destroyed a number of civilian vehicles, and vandalized infrastructure in the roads adjacent to it, with intense reconnaissance drones flying overhead.

Y.S/M.N