West Bank: Ten Palestinians reported killed in Israeli strike

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that an Israeli airstrike in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday night resulted in the deaths of 10 Palestinians. Video footage reportedly from the town of Tammun showed a scene of chaos, with severely damaged buildings and bloodstains on the streets.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that, acting on intelligence from the Shin Bet security agency, they had struck a squad of "armed terrorists." In contrast to the ongoing but fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Israel has increased its military operations in the West Bank over the past week, particularly in and around the city of Jenin, north of Tammun.

Hundreds of Israeli security forces, supported by helicopters, drones, and armored vehicles, were deployed to Jenin and its refugee camp. The camp has long been seen as a stronghold for Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It is reported that over 20,000 people fled their homes in the refugee camp, with many houses demolished and roads torn up by Israeli bulldozers.

“It’s terrifying, explosions, fires, demolished houses,” Intisar Amalka, a displaced resident of the refugee camp, told Reuters on Wednesday. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that since January 21, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a large-scale operation to "defeat terrorism," 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the Jenin area, with dozens more injured. The fatalities include a two-year-old girl who was fatally shot in the head on Saturday, and at least six members of armed groups.

The Ministry of Health stated that in other areas of the northern West Bank during the same period, another 14 Palestinians had been killed, including the 10 who died in the Tammun attack on Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF stated that Israeli security forces had killed 18 “terrorists” in recent days in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas, and detained 60 “wanted persons,” with another operation launched in the Tulkarem area starting on Monday. Additionally, large quantities of weapons were discovered, and dozens of explosive devices were dismantled.

Hamas urged Palestinians in the West Bank to “resist the occupation, its soldiers, and settler militias by all means.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday during a visit to the Jenin refugee camp that the IDF would maintain a presence there once the operation was over. “The Jenin refugee camp will no longer be what it was,” he said. “After the operation, IDF forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terrorism does not return.”

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned Gallant’s “provocative assault on Jenin and his inflammatory rhetoric.” It also called for urgent US intervention “to prevent the scenes of destruction in Gaza from being transferred to the West Bank.” Israel has conducted multiple military operations in Jenin previously. More recently, security forces of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority have also undertaken weeks of controversial operations against armed groups there, seeking to reassert control.

Violence in the West Bank has surged since Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified raids, saying they are trying to prevent deadly attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel against Israelis. Since occupying the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has built about 160 settlements, housing around 700,000 Jewish people. These settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.