Israel undercover agents kill 3 Palestinians in West Bank hospital raid

Undercover Israeli agents, some disguised as medical staff, raided a West Bank hospital Tuesday and shot dead three Palestinians the army alleged were Hamas militants, in the first such operation in eight years.

The Israeli military said forces entered the hospital — a major health facility serving Jenin city and its adjacent refugee camp — to target a "Hamas terrorist cell".

Announcing the killing by Israeli forces of three people inside the hospital, the Palestinian health ministry stressed healthcare facilities are granted special protection under international law.

"The minister of health calls urgently on the United Nations General Assembly, international institutions and human rights organisations to end the daily string of crimes committed by the occupation (Israel) against our people and health centres," a ministry statement said.

CCTV footage said to be from the hospital shows multiple armed men and women, disguised in medical uniforms or civilian clothes, moving through the wards.

The video shows them using a baby carrier and a wheelchair as props.

Hospital director Naji Nazzal told AFP that "a group of Israeli forces entered the facility undercover and assassinated the men". They used weapons fitted with silencers, he said.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa named the three men as Muhammad Jalamnah, Muhammad Ayman Ghazawi and Basel Ayman Ghazawi.

"The operation was carried out at the hospital's rehabilitation ward where Basel Ghazawi had been undergoing treatment," the hospital's director said.

 Palestinians 'hiding' in hospital 

The Israeli army charged that Jalamnah was a "terrorist" with the militant group Hamas hiding in the hospital. Two other who were...