Additionally, another four people were reportedly killed in an airstrike during a simultaneous operation in the al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas, with another death occurring west of Jenin.
Local journalists noted that they had not witnessed an operation of this scale in the West Bank since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, two decades ago. Violence has intensified in the West Bank following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Israeli forces have ramped up their raids, asserting that they are attempting to prevent deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in both the West Bank and Israel.
Israeli media reported that hundreds of Israeli forces were active in at least four northern West Bank cities: Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and Nablus. The Palestinian health ministry reported that the bodies of seven people were brought to Tubas governmental hospital, with two others arriving at Jenin governmental hospital. The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed that at least nine people had been killed across the West Bank, revising down its death toll to 10.
Among those killed were three individuals in a drone strike in Misilya, a village near Jenin, and four others in a drone strike in al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas. However, the actual death toll could be higher, with the governor of Jenin earlier stating that at least 11 people had been killed.
In Jenin, a frequent flashpoint, troops blocked all but one entrance to the city and established checkpoints. The health ministry reported that Israeli forces had surrounded Jenin government hospital, the nearby Ibn Sina hospital, and the headquarters of the Palestinian Red Crescent and the Friends of the Patients society. The ministry warned that any attempt to storm these hospitals would endanger the lives of patients and medical staff inside.
The health ministry also accused Israeli forces of hindering ambulance operations, which it said violated international law. Israeli troops were also conducting searches in Jenin refugee camp, a known base for armed groups and the site of many past gun battles.
A resident of the camp reported hearing nearby explosions and drones overhead, though there was no immediate sign of armed fighters confronting Israeli forces. He described how Israeli armored bulldozers had destroyed the camp's main street and piled rubble to block access.
In a joint statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Shin Bet domestic security agency, and Israel Border Police reported that in the Jenin area, three armed terrorists who posed a threat to security forces were killed in an aerial strike. The statement also mentioned that in Jenin and Tulkarm, forces had eliminated two additional armed terrorists, apprehended wanted suspects, and confiscated weapons, including M-16s, ammunition, and other military equipment. They also claimed to have dismantled explosives planted on local roads to target Israeli forces.
Hamas later issued a statement mourning six fighters killed by Israeli forces in Jenin on Wednesday. During the simultaneous operation in al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas, an Israeli aircraft reportedly killed four armed terrorists who posed a threat to forces, and ground forces confiscated weapons.
Masoud Naaja, whose two adult sons were killed in the strike, described the sudden attack that occurred while he was giving water to some men near his home. He recounted how an explosion occurred, leaving him injured and his home damaged. His wife discovered their children on the rooftop, two of whom had died, and one was injured.
A woman in Tubas told the BBC that Israeli forces were bringing more military vehicles and bulldozers into al-Faraa refugee camp, and residents were anxiously awaiting possible escalation. IDF spokesman Lt Col Nadav Shoshani stated that the operation targeted a mix of terror groups and cells but declined to specify the duration of the operation or the number of troops involved.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz issued a strong statement, asserting that the military was acting with "full force" in Jenin and Tulkarm to dismantle "Iranian-Islamic terror infrastructures" and accused Iran of funding and smuggling advanced weapons into the area. Katz emphasized the need to address this threat with the same determination as the threat from Gaza, including the possibility of "temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents," a suggestion not previously made in an official capacity.
A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas warned that the escalating Israeli raids in the West Bank, combined with the Gaza war, could lead to "dire and dangerous results" for everyone involved. Nabil Abu Rudeineh called for urgent international intervention to "curb this extremist [Israeli] government" that he said threatened regional and global stability.
Hamas, a rival of Abbas's Fatah movement, condemned the Israeli operation as part of a "brutal genocidal war in Gaza." A spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office expressed concern that such operations could worsen the already catastrophic situation and argued that the use of airstrikes and other military tactics by Israeli forces violated human rights norms applicable to law enforcement operations.
The UN reported that 622 Palestinians, including armed group members, attackers, and civilians, had been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between Oct. 7 and Monday. Of these, 602 were killed by Israeli forces, including 126 in airstrikes, and 11 by Israeli settlers. Fifteen Israelis, including nine security force members and five settlers, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank during the same period, while 10 Israelis were killed in Israel in attacks by Palestinians from the West Bank.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East war, it has built about 160 settlements housing around 700,000 Jews. These settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
