At Least Nine Killed in Israeli Ground and Air Assault in Northern West Bank

At least nine people have been killed in the wake of a large-scale ground and air assault by Israel on the northern region of the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reports, citing Palestinian health officials and media reports.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society confirmed to the media outlet that an Israeli attack early Wednesday targeted the Far’a refugee camp in Tubas, claiming four lives. Dozens of others sustained injuries; however, Red Crescent teams have barely reached the injured due to Israeli forces obstructing ambulance entry to the area.

Additionally, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that two people lost their lives in an attack on Jenin. In a separate incident, three people were killed when an Israeli drone targeted their vehicle in the nearby village of Seir.

Israeli military sources said that the operation involved hundreds of soldiers and air force assets, marking one of the largest military actions in the occupied West Bank since 2002. Reports suggest that the operation had been in planning for weeks.

Omar Baddar, a political analyst specializing in Middle Eastern affairs, characterized the escalation as a component of a broader Israeli strategy aimed at the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinian territories.

“Israel has been intent on annexing and ethnically cleansing significant portions of the West Bank for a very long time,” he noted in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Baddar suggested that the ongoing violence in Gaza may have allowed Israeli forces to intensify their activities in the West Bank.

“What we’ve seen over the past several months is the killing of more than 650 Palestinians by Israeli soldiers and settlers throughout the West Bank,” he explained.

In response to the Israeli operations, armed Palestinian groups reported clashes with Israeli forces in the Nur Shams and Jenin refugee camps. The al-Quds Brigades said that its fighters targeted an Israeli infantry unit in Nur Shams Camp with a highly explosive device. Similarly, the Qassam Brigades reported using locally-made explosives against Israeli military vehicles in Jenin, engaging in violent clashes with occupying forces.