The Palestinian health ministry announced on Sunday that Israeli security forces fatally shot a 23-year-old pregnant woman in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, the ministry identified the woman as Sundos Jamal Mohammed Shalabi, who was eight months pregnant. She was struck by Israeli gunfire, and her unborn child also did not survive. Her husband was critically injured in the incident.
According to the Palestinian state news agency, eyewitnesses reported that Shalabi and her husband were shot by Israeli forces as they attempted to leave their home.
The Israeli military stated that it had expanded a counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank, targeting Nur Shams, a refugee camp near the Palestinian town of Tulkarm.
Officials said Israel’s military, police, and intelligence services launched the operation in Jenin on January 21, describing it as a large-scale military effort. The operation later extended to Tulkarm, Al Faraa, and Tamun, with the military saying it was targeting militants.
Israel considers the West Bank part of a broader conflict involving Iranian-backed groups along its borders. The military escalation followed a ceasefire agreement in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
