The Israeli military is taking massive action against militant Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. It is unclear how long the largest operation in the area since the start of the Gaza war will last.
Israel has launched a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, in which, according to official Palestinian sources, at least ten people have been killed. The army said it entered several towns during the night, including Tulkarem and Jenin. The United Nations criticized the severity of the action.
According to media reports, the military deployed drones and snipers in addition to numerous infantrymen, destroyed infrastructure with bulldozers and blocked all access routes to Jenin. There were firefights with armed Palestinians. Several wanted Palestinians were arrested.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank, seven dead people were taken to a hospital in Tubas, also in the northern West Bank. The ministry also confirmed two deaths in Jenin and another in a town near the city.
According to Israeli and Palestinian media, the security forces also surrounded hospitals in both cities and blocked ambulances. The army is controlling access to the hospital buildings to prevent militants from entrenching themselves there, an Israeli army spokesman said.
Army: Military operation due to increase in attacks
The reason for the operation was a recent significant increase in the number of attacks on Israelis that had originated in the northern West Bank, the spokesman said. He also referred to the recent explosion of an explosive device in Tel Aviv, in which the attacker was killed and a passerby injured.
According to Israel, the target of the large-scale operation, especially in Jenin and Tulkarm, is an Iranian-backed terror network. Both cities are considered strongholds of militant Palestinians. Since the beginning of the Gaza war almost eleven months ago, around 150 attacks with firearms and explosives have been carried out on Israelis from there alone, said the military spokesman.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote to X: “We must deal with the threat in the same way as we deal with the terror infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians.” It is “a war in every sense, and we must win it.” The army spokesman said he was not aware of any possible evacuation plans for the civilian population in the northern West Bank.
Report: Military operation in the West Bank could last days
According to information from the “Times of Israel”, the military operation could last even longer. According to sources in the army, it is planned to last several days.
“Since last night, the Israeli army has been taking action with all its might against an Islamic Iranian terror network in the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarem,” wrote Foreign Minister Katz. Iran is working to build up an eastern terror front against Israel in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) similar to what it has done in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon “by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons via Jordan.”
During an operation in the refugee district of Nur Shams in Tulkarem, Israeli forces accidentally damaged a water pipe when they uncovered buried explosive devices, according to the army. The water supply comes from other sources. The military is allowing residents to leave the area, it said. However, Israel’s military stressed that there were no orders for them to do so.
630 Palestinians killed since October 7
The already tense situation in the occupied West Bank has worsened significantly since the Hamas massacre that left 1,200 people dead on October 7, 2023, and the resulting start of the Gaza war. Since then, more than 630 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, armed clashes and attacks by extremists, according to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah.
There are repeated raids by the Israeli army, especially in Jenin and Tulkarem. According to the Ministry of Health, just on Monday five people were killed in an Israeli air raid in the refugee district of Nur Shams in Tulkarem. According to the Israeli army, the bombing was aimed at militant Palestinians.
UN Human Rights Office criticizes Israel
The UN Human Rights Office in Geneva warned that the military action could worsen the already “catastrophic situation” in the West Bank. Many minors have been killed in Israeli military operations since October 7 for throwing stones, but they did not pose a threat to the life or limb of others, it said.
“Such unnecessary or disproportionate use of force and the increase in apparently targeted and other summary killings are alarming,” said spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani. Israel is violating human rights norms and standards that apply to law enforcement activities.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York that people in the occupied region were increasingly being exposed to “lethal war tactics” that “seem to exceed international law enforcement standards.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned on X that the operation must not create the conditions for expanding the war in the Gaza Strip.
Efforts to achieve Gaza ceasefire continue
Meanwhile, fighting in the Gaza Strip continues, as do efforts to achieve a ceasefire and release the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
An Israeli delegation was due to travel to Doha for further talks on an agreement with Hamas. The indirect negotiations, in which Qatar, Egypt and the USA are mediating between the conflicting parties, have been at a standstill for months.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
