Military targets Palestinian militants in the West Bank

The Israeli military carried out a massive military operation in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, killing at least nine people in a series of heavy gun battles in Jenin and other major cities, heightening tensions in a war that has already devastated large parts of Gaza.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday urged Israel to consider temporarily relocating Palestinians in Jenin and elsewhere during a major counterterrorism operation. The Israeli military said it was allowing residents seeking to flee fighting zones to leave safely.

Israel is stepping up its efforts in the West Bank but continuing operations in the Gaza Strip. On the country's northern border with Lebanon, the country is clashing with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, while Israeli merchant ships are threatened by the Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthi militias.

Katz said the military was working “intensively” in the refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarm in the West Bank to destroy the Iranian-backed terrorist infrastructure. He accused Iran of trying to build a terror front against Israel in the West Bank “on the model of Gaza and Lebanon” by financing terrorists and smuggling weapons from Jordan.

“We must deal with this threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and all necessary steps,” Katz said. “This is a war for everything and we must win it.”

The UN estimates that nearly 90 percent of the 2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been under various evacuation orders since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7.

The Israeli military said Wednesday's operation was a result of a sharp rise in militant activity in the West Bank in recent months. Israel has stepped up its attacks in the West Bank, where settler violence against Palestinians has also increased. More than 600 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the war in Gaza began, the UN said.

Hostage rescued in Gaza leaves a message: Other prisoners “suffer”

Developments:

∎ The United States imposed sanctions on the Israeli non-profit organization Hashomer Yosh and a security guard at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank on Wednesday to prevent extremist violence against Palestinians.

∎ The Israeli military said its armed aircraft had “attacked and eliminated” at least three armed fighters in Jenin who posed a threat to fighters on the ground. Special forces had killed at least two others, the military said.

∎ The Israeli Defense Forces also launched Operation Mosk, in which aircraft eliminated four armed terrorists who were threatening the forces in the Bekaa region of the West Bank. Israeli troops confiscated weapons and discovered and destroyed explosives.

The Israeli military operation in the West Bank “risks further aggravating the already disastrous situation in the territory,” said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She said many children had been killed “while throwing stones at the heavily guarded Israeli security forces, as well as other Palestinians who posed no immediate threat to their lives.” Israel, as an occupying power, must meet its obligations under international law, she said.

“The use of air strikes and other military weapons and tactics by Israeli security forces violates human rights norms and standards,” she said.

A former Rahat mayor said hostage Qaid Farhan Alkadi, who was rescued on Tuesday, told him that a fellow prisoner had died alongside him in Gaza. Ata Abu Madighem told Channel 12 News that Alkadi, a Rahat resident, said the other hostage was Jewish and they were held together for about two months. Abu Madighem said he did not know any further details. Alkadi, who is Muslim, told Abu Madighem he did not receive any special treatment from his captors.

“This story breaks his heart. He has many (horrible) memories,” said Abu Madighem. “But ultimately he talks about being saved.”

The armed wings of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah said their fighters had detonated bombs against Israeli military vehicles in the three West Bank territories. The Palestinian Health Ministry said troops had surrounded Jenin's main hospital and blocked access with earthen ramparts to prevent fighters from seeking refuge.

Israeli military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said the operation was a result of a sharp increase in militant activity in recent months. He said the military believed there was an “imminent threat” to civilians, but the operation was part of a broader strategy to thwart attacks.

“The threat of terrorism in this area is not new. It did not start yesterday and it will not end tomorrow,” Shosani said.

Middle East news, explained. Subscribe to USA TODAY's Israel-Hamas war newsletter.

Supreme UN Court on the West Bank: Israeli settlements are illegal

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would cut short his state visit to Saudi Arabia after a large-scale operation by Israeli forces began in the West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Abbas' spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned that the operation in the West Bank would have “dangerous consequences.” Abu Rudeineh called on the US to intervene immediately and force the occupation authorities to end their “all-out war” against the Palestinian people.

“The world must take immediate and urgent action to contain this extremist government, which poses a threat to the stability of the region and the world as a whole,” he said.

Unlike Gaza, which was administered by Hamas before the war, the West Bank is administered by the Palestinian Authority. Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine that the Palestinians claim for a state – in the 1967 Six-Day War. Since then, Israelis have built and steadily expanded settlements in the West Bank, and today nearly 500,000 Israelis live there alongside about 3 million Palestinians.

The United Nations' highest court ruled last month that Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories were illegal and that all states should work together to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Contributors: Reuters

Dog drama in Mülheim: Animal owners make terrible discovery

From tragic school accident to mechanical engineering and Paralympic silver medal – Firstpost

Jackie Chan's best trilogy is not "Rush Hour", but this classic

Military targets Palestinian militants in the West Bank

Related posts:

By Hudson Brooklyn

You Missed

Repeat domestic violence offender sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing in Victoria Park

“The Lord of the Rings”: Tolkien’s greatest drama is a missed rescue

David Schwarz' Shock Preliminary Final Prediction

Death of an EY employee in India: Harsh Goenka shares 6 tips to promote a healthy workplace culture

Military targets Palestinian militants in the West Bank

Related posts:

By Hudson Brooklyn

Related Post

Repeat domestic violence offender sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing in Victoria Park

“The Lord of the Rings”: Tolkien’s greatest drama is a missed rescue

David Schwarz' Shock Preliminary Final Prediction

You Missed

Repeat domestic violence offender sentenced to life imprisonment for stabbing in Victoria Park

“The Lord of the Rings”: Tolkien’s greatest drama is a missed rescue

David Schwarz' Shock Preliminary Final Prediction

Death of an EY employee in India: Harsh Goenka shares 6 tips to promote a healthy workplace culture