The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that five Palestinians were killed on Wednesday as a result of Israeli strikes in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military confirmed the strikes, stating they targeted a “terrorist cell.”
According to Ahmed Jibril, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent, the casualties were caused by Israeli airstrikes on a group of individuals in the Tubas area. The deceased were transported to the Turkish government hospital in Tubas for further processing, he added.
The incident occurred near a mosque in the Tubas region around dawn, according to the Red Crescent. Israeli forces were reported to be conducting counterterrorism operations in Tubas and Tamun, with drone fire playing a role in the strikes. The Israeli military, however, did not provide a casualty count, stating only that one of its aircraft had targeted an “armed terrorist cell.”
Eyewitnesses reported Israeli forces storming both Tubas and the nearby town of Tammun. The region has been a focal point of Israeli military operations, with a large-scale offensive launched at the end of August across the northern West Bank, including the Tubas area, leading to widespread destruction.
Last week, another Israeli airstrike in Tubas claimed the lives of five individuals, according to Palestinian medics. The Israeli military later confirmed the operation, describing it as a series of “targeted strikes on armed terrorists,” which included the death of Muhammad Zakaria Zubeidi, a prominent figure in the Jenin area.
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, has seen an escalation in deadly raids by Israeli forces since Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 698 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7 due to Israeli military actions and settler violence. In the same period, Israeli officials report that 23 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks in the territory.
