At least nine Palestinians have been killed in a large-scale Israeli military operation in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials and media reports. The attack, which involved both ground troops and airstrikes, targeted several areas, including the Far’a refugee camp in Tubas.
The director of the ambulance department at the Palestine Red Crescent Society told Al Jazeera that four people were killed during an Israeli assault on the Far’a camp early Wednesday. Several others were injured, but Israeli forces blocked ambulances from reaching the wounded, complicating rescue efforts.
In separate incidents, two more people were killed in an Israeli attack on Jenin, and three others died when an Israeli drone struck their vehicle in the village of Seir, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported.
The Israeli operation, described by official Israeli radio as the largest in the occupied West Bank since 2002, involved hundreds of soldiers and air force support. Channel 14 reported that the operation had been in the planning stages for weeks.
Middle East political analyst Omar Baddar suggested that the attack is part of a broader Israeli strategy aimed at annexing and “ethnically cleansing” significant portions of the West Bank. Baddar argued that Israel seized the opportunity to escalate its actions in the West Bank while global attention is focused on the situation in Gaza. He noted that over the past several months, more than 650 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers throughout the West Bank.
Palestinian armed groups, including the al-Quds Brigades and the Qassam Brigades, reported engaging Israeli forces in the Nur Shams and Jenin refugee camps. The groups claimed to have targeted Israeli military vehicles with explosive devices and engaged in intense clashes with the occupying forces.