Israeli Air Strike Kills Five Palestinians in West Bank

Five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tubas, located in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry reported on Wednesday. The Palestinian Red Crescent stated that a drone targeted the group of five near a mosque at dawn, and their bodies were transferred to the local hospital. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strike, stating it targeted an “armed terrorist cell” during a counter-terrorism operation involving security forces in both Tubas and the nearby town of Tamun. Following the strike, the Israeli military imposed a curfew in Tubas. The local government hospital has been surrounded, with people only allowed in or out after checks by Israeli forces, according to an Israeli military official. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces conducted widespread raids on Tubas’ outskirts and various neighborhoods. This coincided with an ongoing Israeli military operation in Tulkarm and its refugee camps, now in its second day.

On Tuesday, two Palestinians – a man and a woman – were reportedly killed by Israeli gunfire in Tulkarm, though the IDF declined to comment on the incident. This comes just days after Israel carried out the largest operation in the West Bank since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 36 Palestinians were killed in the nine-day Israeli operation across Tubas, Tulkarm, and Jenin. Many of the dead were identified by armed groups as their members, although the ministry said children were also among those killed. During the Jenin operation, an Israeli soldier was also reported killed. In a separate incident, an Israeli man was critically injured on Wednesday following a ramming attack by a lorry near the Jewish settlement of Givat Assaf. The IDF stated the attacker was “neutralized” at the scene, with Israeli media identifying the assailant as a Palestinian man from Rafat, near Ramallah.

This spike in violence follows months of escalating tension in the West Bank. Since October of last year, more than 690 Palestinians have been killed, the Palestinian health ministry reports, while 28 Israelis have died in Palestinian attacks across the West Bank and Israel, according to the UN. ⚡ Image Credit: GettyImages