Israeli Forces Unleash Major West Bank Offensive

Israeli forces have reportedly killed at least nine Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials.

The actual death toll could be higher, with earlier reports from Palestinian authorities suggesting at least 11 casualties since the operation began at midnight local time.

The Israeli security forces described the ongoing action as “a counterterrorism operation to thwart terror” in Jenin and Tulkarm.

The scope of the operation is significant, targeting at least four Palestinian cities simultaneously—Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, and Tubas.

This marks the first large-scale targeting of multiple Palestinian cities since the second intifada, a major uprising from 2000 to 2005.

Reports indicate that the main roads into Jenin have been blocked, and armed clashes are occurring in the city’s refugee camp.

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In a nearby village, an Israeli airstrike reportedly hit a vehicle at dawn. Israeli forces have also entered a hospital in Jenin and cordoned off two hospitals in Tulkarm, while their raids in Nablus are said to focus on two refugee camps.

In the Far’a camp near Tubas, Israeli drone strikes have reportedly made it difficult for ambulances to reach the wounded.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated, “The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been operating with full force since last night in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps to dismantle Iranian-Islamic terror infrastructures established there.”

He accused Iran, which supports armed groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, of trying to open “a new front against Israel in the West Bank.”

Katz added, “We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required.”

The Israeli military has released limited details but confirmed that the IDF, along with the internal security agency Shin Bet and Israel Border Police forces, are “currently conducting a counterterrorism operation to thwart terror in Jenin and Tulkarm.”

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