Thirty-eight Palestinian citizens have been injured by Israeli gunfire as the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Nablus reaches the end of its second day, Dr Ghassan Hamdan, director of Palestinian Medical Relief, said on Friday afternoon.

Sixteen-year-old Khaldoun Salem, who is blind, was seriously injured when he was shot by an Israeli soldier in front of his home.

According to eyewitnesses, Israeli soldiers shot and wounded on Friday morning a Palestinian citizen. They then administered first aid and handed him over to medical crews.

On Friday afternoon another Palestinian citizen was seriously wounded after Israeli sources opened fire on him.

Thirty-two-year-old Ahmad Abu Hantash was shot in the head as he walked to the mosque for Friday prayers in the west of the city.

He was taken to hospital where his condition is described as very serious.

Israeli forces are besieging hospitals in the city and obstructing the movement of ambulances and medical crews, Dr Hamdan said in a statement.

Many injured people remain stranded in the old city, as medical crews are prevented from reaching them because of the curfew imposed by the Israeli military, he said.

"This situation will have tragic consequences if it is allowed to continue. We call on the international community and human rights institutions to stop such violations and to put an end to the collective punishment that is being practiced in the city of Nablus. We also demand the immediate release of medical personnel," Hamdan added.

Medical workers Taher Al-Kusa and Firas Khader were left handcuffed and blindfold in the open air in front of the National Hospital for several hours before being taken away in an Israeli military jeep.

The intensity of the Israeli military operation in the city has increased, with bulldozers and other military vehicles being drafted in. The old city has been under curfew since dawn on Thursday. The curfew has now been extended to the wider Nablus area, including the Balata refugee camp.

Since Thursday the Israeli military campaign in the city has resulted in raids on dozens of houses in the old city, injuring a number of citizens.

Eight people have been arrested since Thursday evening, including 'wanted' Al-Aqsa Brigades members twenty-four-year-old Ahmed Al-Shantir, and twenty-three-year-old Stephen Anbatawi, along with two ambulance crew members, twenty-eight-year-old Firas Khader and thirty-year-old Taher Al-Kusa and Palestinian citizens, Jawad Shakhsheer and Gawdat Shakhsheer and Yahya Sharaf and Ala Hamameh.

In a telephone call to Maan, the Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for detonating an explosive near an Israeli military jeep at the entrance to the old city.

Israeli forces claim they have located two projectiles in an explosives factory in the city. The Al-Aqsa Brigades announced that the two projectiles were found by the Israeli army in Nablus were to be used to target Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Source: Maan News Agency