At least 10 killed as Israel begins major military operation in West Bank

By Aaron Boxerman

Hundreds of Israeli troops mounted major overnight raids in the occupied West Bank, Israeli officials said Wednesday, targeting Palestinian militants after what they called months of rising attacks. At least 10 people were killed, and an Israeli military official said the operation was continuing.

The operation was concentrated in Jenin and Tulkarem, two cities that have become militant strongholds, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, told reporters. A Palestinian armed group based in Jenin said it had fired on Israeli forces in two villages on the city’s outskirts, and Palestinian residents in both cities described hearing intermittent gunfire.

The operation followed months of escalating Israeli raids in the occupied territory, where nearly 3 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule. Israel has arrested thousands of Palestinians suspected of involvement in armed groups since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks, an increasingly deadly campaign that has unfolded alongside its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the toll in the West Bank — more than 580 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the United Nations, in violence involving both the Israeli military and extremist Jewish settlers — the raids have failed to tamp down the armed groups. They have also further immiserated Palestinian civilians in the territory, who saw Israeli bulldozers tear up roads early Wednesday and feared being caught in the crossfire.

The raids Wednesday appeared to be the largest since July 2023, when about 1,000 Israeli soldiers carried out a 48-hour incursion in Jenin that killed 12 Palestinians, at least nine of whom militant groups claimed as members.

Palestinian officials said the Israeli operation included drone strikes. Troops also operated farther east in the Far’a neighborhood, conducting an aerial strike that killed four militants, Israeli authorities said.

Here is what else to know

— Gunfire and explosions: Kamal Abu al-Rub, the Palestinian governor of Jenin, said the Israeli incursion was unusually fierce, with the sounds of gunfire and blasts intermittently resounding through the city. Israeli officials had informed their Palestinian counterparts that they were imposing a formal curfew on parts of the city and that soldiers had surrounded Jenin’s hospitals, entrances and exits, he said, adding: “People are living in a state of terror and anxiety.”

— Iranian smuggling: The raid comes as U.S., Israeli and Iranian officials have said that Iran is trying to flood the West Bank with weapons. The covert operation, employing intelligence operatives, militants and criminal gangs, has heightened concerns that Iran is seeking to turn the territory into another flashpoint in its long-standing conflict with Israel.

— Settler violence: While the Israeli military cited rising Palestinian violence, extremist Israelis have also stepped up attacks against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. Many escape legal accountability for the mob attacks, some of which turn deadly. This month, a 23-year-old Palestinian was killed when dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the town of Jit in the northern West Bank.

— Jenin a symbol: The city is synonymous with Palestinian rebellion, the source of dozens of suicide bombers who were sent into Israel during the second intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation in the early 2000s. More recently, the impoverished city has been a hotbed for recruiting by Hamas and the militant group Islamic Jihad, as well as newer militias that have emerged among a disaffected younger generation. Israeli officials say more than 50 shooting attacks on Israelis have emanated from the Jenin area this year.