Six Palestinians killed In Israeli raid in West Bank as Blinken urges Mid-East states to use their influence

Shafaq News/ Six people were killed early Sunday during an Israeli raid in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

"An Israeli occupation bombardment on a group of citizens killed six people in p," said the Palestinian Authority-run Ministry of Health, which is based in the West Bank.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported early Sunday that a major deployment of Israeli forces was underway in Jenin.

At least 327 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the conflict broke out on October 7, according to a count by the Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Health.

The war began when Hamas fighters attacked settlements near Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 Israelis and taking 240 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 22,700 Palestinians and the conflict has spilled into the West Bank, Lebanon, and Red Sea.

The town of Jenin and its refugee camp have been the scene of repeated Israeli raids. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967.

Earlier today, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Middle Eastern nations need to use their influence over regional actors to ensure the Gaza conflict is contained and prevent "an endless cycle of violence."

Blinken spoke late in the day after meeting the leaders of Turkey and Greece at the start of a week-long trip aimed at calming tensions that have spiked since Israel's war on Gaza began in October.

It is in the interests of virtually all nations in the Middle East to contain the fighting, Blinken told reporters.

"We want to make sure that countries who feel that way are also using their ties, using their influence, using their relationships with some of the actors that might be involved to keep a lid on things, to make sure that we're not seeing the spread of conflict," he said before flying to Jordan.

Lebanon's Iranian-backed Hezbollah group said on Saturday it had fired rockets at Israel, and its arch-foe said it had struck a "terrorist cell" in retaliation.

Blinken said it was very important that Israel had security in the north of the country.

"From the perspective of Israel, it's clearly not interested, does not want escalation ... but they also have to be fully prepared to defend themselves," he said.

Blinken, who will also visit Arab states, Israel, and the occupied West Bank, said if efforts to settle the crisis failed the outcome would be "an endless cycle of violence ... and lives of insecurity and conflict for people in the region."

He also said he would be looking at what could be done to maximize the protection of civilians in Gaza and increase deliveries of humanitarian assistance.

"Far too many Palestinians have been killed, especially children," he said.