JERUSALEM — Israel launched a series of raids across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, where its forces killed at least nine Palestinians and sealed off the volatile city of Jenin, according to Palestinian officials.
While Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack out of Gaza triggered the ongoing war there, it appeared to be the largest such operation in more than 20 years.
Palestinian militant groups said they were exchanging fire with the Israeli military. The governor of Jenin, Kamal Abu al-Rub, said on Palestinian radio that Israeli forces had surrounded the city, blocking exit and entry points and access to hospitals, and ripping up infrastructure in the camp.
The Israeli military confirmed it was operating in the West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem but did not provide further details.
At least 652 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli fire since the war in Gaza began over 10 months ago, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have died during such raids, which often trigger gunbattles with militants.
Israel says the operations are required to dismantle Hamas and other militant groups and to prevent attacks on Israelis, which have also risen since the start of the war.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said seven people were killed early Wednesday in Tubas, another West Bank city, and another two in Jenin. The ministry identified the two killed in Jenin as Qassam Jabarin, 25, and Asem Balout, 39.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three for a future state.
Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank , which are home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers. They have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited control over population centers.
The war in Gaza erupted on Oct. 7, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and rampaged through army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. The militants are still holding some 110 hostages, around a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a November cease-fire.
Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants. Around 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, and Israeli bombardment and ground operations have caused vast destruction.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to mediate a cease-fire that would see the remaining hostages released. But the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed “total victory” over Hamas and the militant group has demanded a lasting cease-fire and a full withdrawal from the territory.
There was no sign of a breakthrough after days of talks in Egypt, and the negotiations move to Qatar this week.
