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Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Israel’s deadly operation in the West Bank, the United Kingdom sending military aid to Ukraine, and a fatal fire at a Kenyan boarding school.

The 10-Day Raid on Jenin

Israeli forces withdrew from the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday after a 10-day operation targeting suspected militants in the Jenin, Tulkarm, and al-Faraa refugee camps. At least 36 Palestinians were killed during the offensive, including 21 people in the Jenin governorate, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah.

“We had numerous invasions in the past, but this invasion is the most destructive,” Jenin Gov. Kamal Abu al-Rub said, with some calling it one of the longest and deadliest Israeli assaults on the West Bank in years. Israel said most of those killed were militants, including Wisam Khazem, the leader of Hamas’s activities in Jenin. However, the Palestinian Health Ministry said some children were among the dead. An Israeli soldier also died during the operation.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the raid aimed to “thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructure” that sought to establish an “eastern front” against Israel that would work alongside Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both of which are also backed by Iran. On Friday, the Israeli military said it had killed 14 members of armed Palestinian groups in Jenin as well as confiscated weapons and detained more than 30 suspected militants there. It also said it had carried out four airstrikes on the West Bank; this type of attack was rarely used in the West Bank prior to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

It is unclear whether Israeli operations in the area have fully concluded, though the Israeli military said its security forces “are continuing to act in order to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation.” Nearly 700 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since last October, according to the United Nations.

Jenin has a dense civilian population of around 60,000 people and has long also been considered a stronghold for Palestinian militants. Israel’s “lethal war-like tactics,” as the United Nations has condemned them, have caused grave humanitarian concerns. Palestinians have reported cut water and electricity services, families confined to their homes, ambulances stopped on their way to hospitals, and roads bulldozed to search for explosive devices buried in the streets.

Jenin Mayor Nidal Abu Saleh estimates that the total cost of the destruction could be more than $13 million, not including the $26 million in damage already caused to the city over the past 11 months. That real amount is likely higher, as officials have not yet tallied the extent of all of the damage.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Turkish-American activist Aysenur Eygi was shot and killed during an anti-settlement protest in the West Bank town of Beita on Friday. The Israeli military admitted to firing at the demonstrators but said it is still looking into reports on how the foreign national died. Eygi was volunteering with the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement to protest the Israeli settlement of Evyatar, which Israel authorized earlier this year. All Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law.

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What We’re Following

Foreign military aid. The United Kingdom announced on Friday that it will send around 650 short-range missiles worth about $213 million to Ukraine. They are expected to be delivered by the end of this year. The new supply came as British Defense Minister John Healey attended the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. “This new commitment will give an important boost to Ukraine’s air defenses,” Healey said, as Russian forces continue to fire drones and missiles at critical Ukrainian infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated requests for greater Western aid while also shaking up his own cabinet. On Thursday, Ukraine’s parliament approved the appointment of Andrii Sybiha to be Kyiv’s new foreign minister. The former ambassador to Turkey replaces Dmytro Kuleba, who tendered his resignation on Wednesday. Sybiha will “have a different style from Kuleba,” former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor told FP’s Amy Mackinnon and Jack Detsch. “He’ll probably instill a little more discipline in the [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]. He’s more formal.”

Deadly school fire. At least 17 boys were killed and 14 others injured at a boarding school fire in central Kenya late Thursday. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said 70 students at Hillside Endarasha Academy remain unaccounted for, though parents may have taken some of them home. This was a “horrific incident,” President William Ruto said on Friday, adding that the government will ensure that those responsible are held to account. The cause of the blaze is still unknown, and an investigation has been launched.

School fires are relatively common in Kenya, many of which have been attributed to arson. From 2015 to 2016, around 350 Kenyan schools caught fire, according to official figures. In 2017, nine students died during a boarding school fire in Nairobi. In 2012, eight students were killed at a school in western Kenya, and in 2001, 58 pupils died in a dormitory fire at Kyanguli Secondary School outside of the capital.

No overseas adoptions. Beijing will no longer allow most foreign adoptions of Chinese children, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday. Those adopting stepchildren and children of blood relatives in China, though, are exempt. It is not clear how the move may affect the hundreds of people in the United States currently in the midst of the adoption process; U.S. citizens have adopted more children from China than any other foreign country.

The decision overturns a practice that began in 1992 as a result of China’s one-child policy. Since then, more than 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted by foreign families. Beijing is now trying to raise birth rates, but many in China prefer smaller families because of job insecurity and the high cost of child care.

What in the World?

Which of the following allegations had Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González not been charged with, as of Monday?

A. Conspiracy
B. Falsifying documents
C. Usurpation of powers
D. Bribery of election officials

Odds and Ends

Two conservation groups filed a police report on Wednesday alleging that a beluga whale believed to be working for the Kremlin was killed by gunfire. Hvaldimir the whale, named partly after Russian President Vladimir Putin, gained popularity for his sociable demeanor as well as for wearing a harness that read “Equipment St. Petersburg” while swimming along Norway’s coast. Autopsy results could take up to three weeks.

And the Answer Is…

D. Bribery of election officials

González contested a July election against incumbent President Nicolás Maduro. The United States and its allies must recognize González as Venezuela’s president-elect before Maduro’s power is solidified, P. Michael McKinley argues.

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