Israeli Forces Kill 8 Palestinians in Violent West Bank Raids, Including Two Women and Teenager
Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank have left at least eight Palestinians dead, including two women and a teenager, following a series of attacks on the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps. The casualties were confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which reported the deaths after Israeli drone strikes and shootings by soldiers early on Tuesday.
The majority of the fatalities occurred in the Tulkarem refugee camp, where seven people were killed. Among the victims were Khawla Ali Abdullah Abdo, 53, and Bara Khalid Hussein, 30, both women, along with 18-year-old Fathi Saeed Salem Obaid. The teenager was shot in the chest and abdomen, while the women were reportedly killed in drone strikes.
In the nearby Nur Shams refugee camp, Mahmoud Muhammad Khaled Amar, a local man, was shot by Israeli soldiers and later found dead in the camp’s Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque neighborhood. Several others were injured following an Israeli drone strike in the area, according to reports from the official Wafa news agency.
In a statement, the Israeli military described the operation as a “counterterrorism” action, claiming that one Palestinian was killed and 18 people were arrested during the raid. Dozens of weapons were also confiscated, they added. The military later confirmed an additional strike on the Nur Shams camp, where an explosive device planted by Palestinian militants exploded during the raid, injuring an Israeli officer. The attack targeted Colonel Ayub Kayuf, commander of Israel’s Menashe Brigade, who required medical evacuation after the blast.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed the deaths of two of its members in the Tulkarem attack. The group also claimed responsibility for detonating the improvised explosive device that injured the Israeli officer.
As Israeli forces continued their raids, violence spread across other areas of the West Bank. In Beit Fruik, east of Nablus, two Palestinian men and a 15-year-old were shot and wounded during an Israeli military raid. In Beit Ummar, near Hebron, four young men were shot and injured after Israeli soldiers opened fire on their vehicle at a checkpoint. One of the men was reported to be in critical condition. Additionally, a Palestinian man in Hebron’s Old City was shot in the thigh after being detained and searched by Israeli soldiers.
Israeli bulldozers also demolished several structures during the raid on Tulkarem, including homes, shops, parts of the as-Salam Mosque, and sections of the camp’s water network, according to reports from Wafa.
The military escalation has intensified following Israel’s war in Gaza, which began in October 2023 after a Hamas attack.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that between January 2023 and November 2024, Israeli forces and settlers killed 968 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 210 children.
