Israel’s military says it has killed five Palestinian troops inside a mosque in Tulkarm, in the West Bank, as it continues to carry out raids in the occupied territory.
Overnight, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said they had killed five militants, including a well-known local commander, in the fighting at the mosque.
Hundreds of Israeli troops – backed by helicopters, drones and armoured personnel carriers – were sent into the West Bank in the early hours of Wednesday.
They targeted Tulkarm, as well as the West Bank city of Jenin and areas in the Jordan Valley.
There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation of the death of Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, in the attack at the Tulkarm mosque.
Jaber, a commander in the Islamic Jihad militant group in the Nur Shams refugee camp on the outskirts of Tulkarm, was killed along with four others in a shootout with Israeli forces early on Thursday, after they hid inside the mosque, according to Israeli authorities.
Jaber is linked to numerous attacks on Israelis, including a deadly shooting in June.
He was reported to have been killed earlier this year before he made a surprise appearance at the funeral of other militants where he received a hero’s welcome.
Another fighter was arrested in Tulkarm, the IDF said, adding a member of their paramilitary Border Police was wounded in the operation.
Israeli military operations in the West Bank are said to be ongoing.
In Jenin, bulldozers edged along empty streets on Thursday. Drones could be heard overhead while Israeli troops remained stationed in front of the city’s main hospital, searching ambulances.
There was also a complete network outage at Jawwal, one of the two main telecommunications companies in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank.
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Meanwhile, despite ongoing efforts and previous optimism, talks are ongoing over a ceasefire in Gaza.
An overnight strike in Gaza City left a number of Palestinians, including at least one child, injured.
A total of 40,602 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military response there after the 7 October attacks, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its figures.
Israel retaliated in Gaza after Hamas killed around 1,200 people and took hundreds more hostage.
West Bank raids ‘deeply concerning’
Clashes with the Israeli military in the West Bank have risen sharply since the 7 October attacks and subsequent invasion of Gaza, while Israeli settlers have also launched frequent vigilante-style attacks on Palestinian communities.
UN chief Antonio Guterres described the latest developments as “deeply concerning” and called for Israel to stop.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also said the raids into the West Bank and rhetoric from leading Israeli politicians “threatens to fuel further instability”.
Hamas said 12 of its fighters were killed across the West Bank in clashes so far this week.
Kamal Abu al-Rub, governor of Jenin, said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had surrounded the city. He claimed they had blocked exit and entry points, access to hospitals, and ripped up infrastructure in the refugee camp.
The Palestinian health ministry in the West Bank said that Israeli forces had blocked roads to a hospital with dirt barriers, and surrounded other medical facilities.
Israeli forces said they were trying to stop militants sheltering in hospitals.
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At least 652 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israel since the war in Gaza began ten months ago, according to Palestinian health officials.
Israel says 30 Israelis have been killed in attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the same period.
Israel says it has stepped up operations in the West Bank because it claims Iran is providing support and weapons to militant factions there.
