Israel has launched a major new offensive across the occupied West Bank, with at least four cities targeted in what security forces are calling a ‘counterterrorism operation to thwart terror’.
At least 11 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials, including five in an air strike on the al-Far’a refugee camp, and six in a drone strike and armed clashes in Jenin.
Palestinian reports say that the main roads into Jenin have been closed off, while Tulkarm, Nablus and Tubas have also been targeted.
Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas’ October 7 attacks sparked the war in Gaza, but this is thought to be the most widespread and coordinated operation of its kind in years.
Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire with the Israeli military with reports that they have entered a hospital and stormed a number of refugee camps.
It comes after Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah launched hundreds of strikes on each other’s territory on Sunday in the biggest exchange of fire between the two sides since fresh conflict broke out following Hamas’ October 7 attacks.
Israeli military vehicles drive down a road during a raid in northern city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank
An Israeli soldier is seen near armoured vehicles during a raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp
Israeli soldiers operate during a raid in the Nur Shams camp for Palestinian refugees near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
Palestinians assess the damage of a car during a military operation by Israeli forces near Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
The Israeli military today confirmed it was operating in the West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem but did not provide further details.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had been ‘operating with full force since last night in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps to dismantle Iranian-Islamic terror infrastructures established there’.
The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp.
An Israeli air strike is reported to have hit a vehicle in a village near Jenin at dawn, with pictures showing people inspecting a car with its windows blown out.
At least 652 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began over 10 months ago, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have died during such raids, which often trigger gunbattles with militants.
Israel says the operations are required to dismantle Hamas and other terrorist groups and to prevent attacks on Israelis, which have also risen since the start of the war.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the bodies of seven people were brought to the hospital in Tubas, another West Bank city, and another two were brought to the hospital in Jenin. The ministry identified two killed in Jenin as Qassam Jabarin, 25, and Asem Balout, 39.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three for a future state.
Israeli soldiers walk down a street during a raid in the al-Faraa camp near Tubas city
Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank, which are home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers.
They have Israeli citizenship, while the three million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited control over population centers.
The war in Gaza erupted on October 7, when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel and rampaged through army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250.
The militants are still holding some 110 hostages, around a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a November cease-fire.
An Israeli military vehicle drives down a road during a raid in northern city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank on August 28, 2024
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.
Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, and Israeli bombardment and ground operations have caused vast destruction.
Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight and into Wednesday killed at least 16 people, including five women and three children.
Most of the strikes were in or near the southern city of Khan Younis, which has come under heavy bombardment over the last two months. Associated Press reporters at two hospitals confirmed the toll.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to mediate a cease-fire that would see the remaining hostages released.
But the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed ‘total victory’ over Hamas has demanded a lasting cease-fire and a full withdrawal from the territory.
There was no sign of a breakthrough after days of talks in Egypt, and the negotiations move to Qatar this week.
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