Nine Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in two raids in the occupied West Bank early Wednesday morning, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said two men were killed in Jenin and seven in Tubas as the military appeared to launch operations in several cities at once. The ministry identified the two killed in Jenin as Qassam Muhammad Jabarin, 25, and Asem Walid Balout, 39.
The Israeli military confirmed it was operating in Jenin and Tulkarem, another West Bank city, but did not provide further details.
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. Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire with the Israeli military.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, according to Palestinian health officials, most from raids into Palestinian cities and towns that Israel says target militant groups.
The reports came a day after the Israeli military said it had rescued a hostage who was among scores of people abducted in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued “in a complex operation in the southern Gaza Strip,” the military said Tuesday.
On Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed five Palestinians in the northern West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military said that it struck an “operations room” used by militants in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the city of Tulkarem. Palestinian health officials said five bodies arrived at a nearby hospital.
Neither Palestinian health officials nor the military immediately identified those killed in Monday’s strike.
Settler violence continues
Meanwhile, a Palestinian was fatally shot and three were wounded earlier this week in the West Bank after Jewish settlers rampaged through a town, Palestinian health officials said.
Hamdi Ziyada, head of the local council in Wadi Rahal, said settlers entered the village near Bethlehem late Monday and hurled rocks at homes and cars. He said one of the settlers fired live rounds.
The Israeli military said Palestinians had thrown rocks at Israeli civilians in the area, and that its forces opened fire to disperse clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. The reported fatality is being investigated, the military said.
Settler violence has surged in the West Bank since the beginning of the war.
Over 500,000 Jewish settlers live in settlements across the territory that most of the international community, including Canada, considers illegal.