LAST UPDATE | 28 Aug

AT LEAST TEN Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids and strikes in several towns in the north of the occupied West Bank, a spokesman for the Red Crescent said Wednesday.

Two Palestinians were killed in the city of Jenin, four others in a nearby village, and four more in a refugee camp near the town of Tubas, said the Red Crescent’s Ahmed Jibril.

He added that 15 others had been wounded.

The Israeli forces “began a counterterrorism operation in Jenin and Tulkarem” in the north of the region overnight, the army said in a statement. The army said earlier that it was conducting an “operation to thwart terrorism in Jenin and Tulkarm”.

A member of the Israeli Defence Forces walks next to an armoured vehicle during the military operation in Jenin. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Israel claims the attack killed nine “terrorists”, three in an airstrike on Jenin refugee camp, two others “eliminated” in Jenin and Tulkarem and four more were killed in “an aerial counterterrorism operation in the area of Faraa”, in the Jordan Valley.

“At the moment, there are no injured soldiers on our side,” military spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters. The Red Crescent has said fifteen people were injured during the operation.

Footage by Al Jazeera shows Israeli bulldozers destroying infrastructure, including sewage systems, water, and electricity networks.

Israel has launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank’s Tulkarm late on Tuesday. Footage by Al Jazeera Arabic shows Israeli bulldozers destroying infrastructure, including sewage systems, water, and electricity networks. pic.twitter.com/ZA0jUG8kOB

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 28, 2024

Foreign Minister Israel Katz claimed that Iran had attempted to recruit militants in the area, which brought about today’s raids. 

He added: “We must address this threat with the same determination used against terror infrastructures in Gaza including temporary evacuation of residents and any necessary measures. This is a war, and we must win it.”

The operation comes two days after Israel said it carried out an air strike on the West Bank that the Palestinian Authority reported killed five people.

Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza, with more than 650 Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and settlers since Hamas’s 7 October attack, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 19 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.

The US announced new sanctions today on Israeli settlers in the West Bank in the wake of the latest violence against Palestinians.

US sanctions generally bar targets from the US financial system, leading Israeli banks to restrict dealings with sanctioned individuals for fear of repercussions.

“Extremist settler violence in the West Bank causes intense human suffering, harms Israel’s security and undermines the prospect for peace and stability in the region,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

“It is critical that the government of Israel hold accountable any individuals and entities responsible for violence against civilians in the West Bank,” he said.

The latest sanction targets included Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli group that has supported the unauthorized settler outpost of Meitarim Farm in the south Hebron Hills, and Yitzhak Levi Filant, who was accused of leading armed settlers in setting up roadblocks and patrols with a goal of attacking Palestinians.