Largest in two decades, Israel launches deadly incursion in West Bank

The Israeli army has launched a major military incursion in the occupied northern West Bank, the largest of its kind in two decades.

A military statement said on Wednesday that the so-called operation aims to counter what it called “terrorism” in the northern West Bank.

The assault, the largest in two decades since a major offensive in Jenin in 2002, involves two army brigades, helicopters, drones and bulldozers, Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.

At least 11 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Israeli raids in the northern West Bank, including the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas, according to the Health Ministry.

Army forces raided the Jenin refugee camp and cordoned off two hospitals in the city as part of the large-scale operation, the Israeli public broadcaster KAN said.

Israel Hayom newspaper said the attack, which involves the army, Border Police and the Shin Bet domestic security service, aims to thwart “the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs)."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said early on Wednesday that the army assault includes the "temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents" from areas in the northern West Bank.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on Gaza, which has killed nearly 40,500, mostly women and children, since October 7, 2023.

At least 662 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.