No fewer than nine Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, in what Israel says is a “counter-terrorism operation”
Earlier, Palestinian officials said at least 11 people had been killed since the Israeli operation began at midnight local time
This appears to be a major Israeli operation, with at least four Palestinian cities being targeted at the same time – Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and Tubas
It is believed to be the first time since the second intifada – a major Palestinian uprising from 2000 to 2005 – that several Palestinian cities have been targeted simultaneously
Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has condemned the Israeli security force’s “increasingly military response” in the occupied West Bank.
The OHCHR says that the Israeli military’s recent operation in the West Bank is being conducted “in a manner which violates international law and risks further enflaming an already explosive situation”.
“The violence between the ISF and armed Palestinians in the West Bank does not constitute an armed conflict under international humanitarian law,” the statement says, adding that “the use of force in the West Bank must comply with human rights norms”.
Since Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel on 7 October, Israel has carried out near-daily raids across the West Bank.
