Israeli forces killed 12 people in three separate raids in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, heightening violence in the occupied territory.
According to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah, five people were killed in the Jenin area and four in Aqaba town in Tubas district during early-morning raids.
In another raid in the village of Kafr Qud, west of Jenin, the Israeli army reported three people were killed and two arrested. The army stated its aircraft targeted "armed terrorist cells" in Jenin but did not specify casualties.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported deaths and injuries due to the shelling of two vehicles in Jenin's eastern neighborhood. Aqaba residents recounted Israeli troops arriving at dawn and surrounding Amid Ghanam’s house, which led to clashes and resulted in Ghanam and two others being killed.
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A teenager was also shot near a hospital, according to Tubas governor Ahmed Assad. Assad described the army's actions, stating troops used snipers on rooftops to shoot at anyone moving. Aqaba mayor Abdel Razzaq Abu Arra condemned the killing of the teenager, calling it a "cold-blooded" act and labeling it as a systematic daily crime by Israeli forces.
Since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October, tensions have escalated in the West Bank, leading to at least 617 Palestinian deaths by Israeli troops or settlers, based on an AFP tally. Over the same period, 17 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed by Palestinian attacks in the West Bank.
In a separate event on Tuesday, Israeli police killed a Palestinian who attacked a border police officer with a screwdriver at a checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The police statement confirmed the attacker was immediately "neutralized with gunfire" and was pronounced dead.
