Palestinian officials reported that Israeli forces killed eight individuals in two separate raids in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, as violence in the occupied territory continued without signs of easing. Four people were killed in the Jenin area and four in the Tubas district during early morning raids, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent and the health ministry in Ramallah. The Israeli army claimed its aircraft targeted "armed terrorist cells" in the Jenin area but did not provide details on casualties.
The Red Crescent stated, "Four martyrs and three wounded, one of whom is in very critical condition, due to the occupation's shelling of two vehicles in the eastern neighborhood of Jenin," and later reported three additional wounded in Jenin. The health ministry announced, "There are four martyrs and seven wounded from occupation gunfire in the town of Aqaba in the Tubas district," and later reported three more wounded in Aqaba.
Residents of Aqaba said Israeli troops arrived at dawn and surrounded the house of Amid Ghanam, leading to clashes between the troops and young Palestinians. Ghanam and two others were killed in the clashes, while another teenager was killed near a hospital, according to Tubas governor Ahmed Assad. "The army entered and surrounded the house as snipers took positions on nearby rooftops and shot anyone who moved," he described. The teenager was shot when the troops "entered the area of the hospital," Assad added. Aqaba mayor Abdel Razzaq Abu Arra condemned the act, stating the teenager "was killed in cold blood." "This Zionist crime is a systematic crime that the Israelis carry out on a daily basis," he asserted.
Since the conflict erupted in October between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, tensions have escalated in the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967. At least 613 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank since October 7, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian official figures. At least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed by Palestinian attacks in the West Bank over the same period, according to Israeli official figures. In a separate incident later on Tuesday, police reported they killed a Palestinian after he attacked a border police officer with a screwdriver at a checkpoint near Jerusalem. Police officers immediately "neutralised the terrorist with gunfire, and he was subsequently pronounced dead," the force stated in a statement.
