An Israeli border police officer was killed in the occupied West Bank during a raid described as a counterterror operation, in which six Palestinians were killed. 

Sgt Shay Germay, 19, died and three other officers injured when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb during the attack in the city of Jenin. 

A helicopter helped rescue them with covering fire, the military said, adding that an aircraft fired at a 'terrorist squad that hurled explosives and endangered our forces, a number of terrorists were killed.' 

The Palestinian ministry said the strike targeted people who had gathered at the site, and eyewitnesses said the attack happened as Israeli forces were withdrawing. 

'One of the martyrs was decapitated,' Mujahid Nazzal, a Palestinian doctor and first responder at the scene, said. 'It seemed the missile directly hit him. Others had their limbs severed. A seventh person was seriously injured and taken by the ambulance.' 

Another witness, Ahmed Suleiman, said, 'The air strike happened at the entrance of Jenin in an area called Martyr's Triangle. You can see the effects of the missile. Blood and body parts scattered everywhere.' 

Four of those killed were brothers, according to family members. 

It comes as Anthony Blinken started his week-long trip on Saturday, aimed at calming tension that has spiked during Israel's war with the militant Hamas group that controls the narrow Gaza strip.  

Blinken's tour, which started with meetings with the leaders of Turkey and Greece, is set to see him visit Israel and the occupied West Bank. 

The West Bank had already experienced its highest levels of unrest in decades during the 18 months before the October 7 attack on Israel, but confrontations have risen sharply as Israeli forces launched an invasion of Gaza. 

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

Many of those were killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers and settlers, while security forces have made thousands of arrests. 

Over recent weeks, the town of Jenin and its refugee camp have been the focus of repeated Israeli raids.  

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967. 

Meanwhile, Israel has stepped up its assault on the south of Gaza after announcing on Saturday night that it has completed its mission to eradicate Hamas in the north. 

In an address given to mark three months since the war broke out, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said: 'We have completed the dismantling of Hamas' military framework in the northern Gaza Strip and will continue to deepen the achievement, strengthening the barrier and the defense components along the security fence.  

'Now, we are focusing on dismantling Hamas in the central and southern Gaza Strip. We will do this differently, thoroughly, based on the lessons we have learned from the fighting so far.' 

While there may be some reprieve in the north, much of which has been levelled by relentless air strikes, Israel is set to push ahead with its bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. 

At least 22,722 people have been killed so far, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. 

(Source: Daily Mail)