Israel’s navy on Wednesday launched a brand new operation towards Palestinian armed teams within the occupied West Financial institution, the place an area governor advised AFP that Israeli forces had raided a number of cities.
The Israeli navy, police and inner safety service mentioned in a joint assertion that that they had begun “a broad counter-terrorism operation” within the north of the Palestinian territory after they obtained intelligence about “makes an attempt to ascertain terrorist strongholds”.
The navy mentioned the operation started with air strikes to isolate the realm, which had been adopted by “searches” on the bottom, throughout which suspects had been questioned and funds had been confiscated.
It additionally mentioned it shot and killed a “terrorist (who) hurled an explosive towards (Israeli) troops working within the Qabatiya space”, within the Jenin governorate, adjoining to Tubas.
The Israeli military confirmed to AFP that it was a brand new operation, and never a part of the one launched in January 2025, which primarily focused Palestinian refugee camps within the northern West Financial institution.
Israel has occupied the West Financial institution since 1967.
The operation, which started in a single day, was going down in predominantly agricultural Tubas, the northeasternmost of the 11 governorates within the West Financial institution.
Ahmed al-Asaad, governor of the Tubas area, advised AFP: “That is the primary time that your complete governorate is included — the entire governorate is now below Israeli military operations.”
Asaad mentioned Israeli forces raided the cities of Tammun and Tayasir and the Al-Faraa Palestinian refugee camp.
“The military has closed town entrances with earth mounds, so there is no such thing as a motion in any respect,” he added.
He advised AFP that “an Apache helicopter” was concerned within the operation, and mentioned it had fired within the course of residential areas.
“It is a political operation, not a safety one,” he mentioned.
– Accidents reported –
An AFP photographer noticed some troopers strolling round inside Tubas metropolis, with a couple of armoured automobiles driving via and a surveillance aerial car buzzing overhead. Most retailers had been closed.
The street entrance to close by Tammun had been closed off by a navy car.
An ambulance was allowed to undergo however residents weren’t. Armoured automobiles had been driving round on the scene.
The Palestinian Crimson Crescent Society mentioned its groups within the governorate had handled 10 injured individuals, 4 of whom needed to be transferred to hospital.
It added that a few of its groups had been “going through obstruction in transporting sufferers within the metropolis of Tubas and the city of Tammun since daybreak” and had been nonetheless responding to requires assist following the raids.
The UN’s humanitarian company OCHA mentioned on Wednesday night {that a} curfew had been imposed within the space, and that at the least two dozen households had been pressured to evacuate as Israeli troops took over their houses.
Militant teams Hamas and Islamic Jihad condemned the Israeli operation.
Hamas mentioned in an announcement that it was a part of a coverage “aimed toward crushing any Palestinian presence with a purpose to obtain full management over the West Financial institution”.
Violence within the West Financial institution has soared since Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel triggered the Gaza conflict, and has not ceased regardless of the delicate truce between Israel and Hamas coming into impact final month.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed greater than 1,000 Palestinians, a lot of them militants, but in addition scores of civilians, within the West Financial institution because the begin of the Gaza conflict, in response to an AFP tally primarily based on Palestinian well being ministry figures.
A minimum of 44 Israelis, together with each troopers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian assaults or Israeli navy operations, in response to official Israeli figures.