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Israel’s military killed at least five Palestinians in a raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Thursday, as it pressed on with a major operation that it launched in the occupied territory a day earlier.
The operation, which involved hundreds of troops and targeted multiple locations including the city of Jenin and the Al-Faraa refugee camp, is among the largest in the territory since the Palestinian uprising known as the second intifada ended in 2005.
The Israeli military said the five men killed on Thursday were all militants and included Muhammad Jabber, who led a militant group in the town’s Nur al-Shams refugee camp. It added that the men had been killed after hiding in a mosque.
Thursday’s deaths brought the toll from this week’s military operation in the occupied territory to at least 16. Hamas claimed 10 of the 11 Palestinians killed on Wednesday as militants. The Palestinian health ministry said on Wednesday that a further 20 people had been injured.
The escalation drew expressions of concern from the US and EU, with the state department in Washington urging Israel to take “all feasible measures” to protect civilians and the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warning against a “war extension from Gaza”.
UN secretary-general António Guterres called for an “immediate cessation of these operations” and said: “Only an end to the occupation and a return to a meaningful political process that will establish a two-state solution will bring an end to the violence.”
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the raids, during which it deployed armoured carriers, bulldozers and infantry, were the “first stages” of a broader operation designed to thwart attacks on Israelis and to prevent Iran from funding and supporting militants in the West Bank.
However, the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa accused Israeli forces of imposing a “siege” on hospitals in Jenin and Tulkarem and hindering ambulance movements, which it said amounted to a “flagrant violation of human rights”.
An Israeli official said forces were trying to prevent militants taking refuge in the hospitals.
Since the start of the war with Hamas in Gaza last year, Israeli forces have sharply ratcheted up their operations in the West Bank, including making increasing use of air strikes, a tactic that, until last year, they had barely used in the territory since the end of the second intifada.
According to the latest figures from the UN, which predate this week’s violence, Israeli forces have killed 602 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7, with 2023 and 2024 the two deadliest years for Palestinians in the territory since the UN began collecting data almost two decades ago.
Since October 7, Palestinians from the West Bank have killed 15 Israelis in the territory, and a further 10 in attacks in Israel. Last year was the deadliest for Israelis in the West Bank since the UN started collecting data.
Palestinians seek the West Bank as the heart of a future state, but Israel has occupied it for 57 years and constructed hundreds of settlements that most of the international community considers illegal.
