Israeli troops and military aircraft have killed at least eight Palestinians, including two women and a teenager, in attacks on the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Seven people were killed in an Israeli drone strike and gunfire by troops in the Tulkarem refugee camp and one person was killed in the nearby Nur Shams camp, the health ministry said, after a bloody day of Israeli military strikes began at dawn on Tuesday.
The ministry said two Palestinian women – identified as Khawla Ali Abdullah Abdo, 53, and Bara Khalid Hussein, 30 – and an 18-year-old, Fathi Saeed Salem Obaid, were among seven people killed in the Israeli strikes on Tulkarem became.
The official Wafa news agency reported that the teenager died from gunshots to the chest and stomach and the two women were reportedly killed in drone strikes.
The victim in Nur Shams camp was identified as Mahmoud Muhammad Khaled Amar, who was shot by Israeli soldiers and later found dead on the ground in the camp’s Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque area, Wafa also reports.
The news agency said several people were also injured in Nur Shams after an Israeli drone attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it killed a Palestinian in an “anti-terror” operation in Tulkarem, while its forces arrested 18 other people and seized dozens of weapons.
The Israeli military later confirmed that an Israeli aircraft had carried out an attack on the Nur Shams refugee camp.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said in a statement that two of its members were killed in Tulkarem.
An improvised explosive device planted by Palestinian fighters and detonated during the Israeli raid on Tulkarem struck a vehicle carrying Israeli Menashe Brigade commander Colonel Ayub Kayuf, injuring him and requiring a medical evacuation the Israeli military said early Wednesday.
Israeli military attacks and further shootings of Palestinians were reported across the occupied West Bank late Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Wafa reported that two Palestinian men and a 15-year-old were shot and injured in an Israeli raid on the town of Beit Fruik, east of Nablus.
Four young Palestinian men were also shot and injured in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, when Israeli troops opened fire on the vehicle they were traveling in at a checkpoint, Wafa reports. One of the four is in critical condition, the news agency said.
Another Palestinian was stopped and searched by Israeli forces in the Old City of Hebron. After his release, he was shot in the thigh by troops without explanation, reports Wafa.
Israeli military bulldozers also destroyed infrastructure during Tuesday’s raid in Tulkarem, including houses, shops, part of the walls of the As-Salam Mosque and part of the camp’s water network, the news agency said.
Raids by Israeli forces on Palestinian communities across the occupied West Bank have increased in intensity and violence since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on southern Israel.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported last week that 968 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers across the occupied West Bank between January 2023 and November 2024.
According to OCHA, 210 of those killed were Palestinian children.
