Israel's attack on the West Bank enters second day, death toll rises to 18

Israeli bulldozers penetrated important infrastructure and disrupted communications in the city, the Palestinian telecommunications network reported. Electricity and water lines were also damaged.

Paramedics report that they are repeatedly losing contact due to disruptions in their channels and that medical teams in Israeli military vehicles are holding up hospitals.

The Israeli military announced on Thursday that it had killed five Palestinians in Tulkram and taken their bodies. Among them was Islamic Jihad commander Muhammad Jaber, bringing the death toll from the offensive to 18.

The incursion, which began early Wednesday, involved hundreds of ground troops backed by warplanes, drones and bulldozers. The largest attack in two decades simultaneously targeted three areas – Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.

Since Israel began its war on Gaza, Israeli army raids on towns and villages in the West Bank have become commonplace. Israeli soldiers and settlers have killed at least 650 Palestinians, including 148 children, and injured more than 5,500, according to Palestinian health officials.

During this period, Israeli soldiers arrested at least 10,200 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Association and the Commission for Prisoners' and Former Prisoners' Affairs.

The same groups report that at least 3,432 Palestinians are being held without charge in “administrative detention” in Israeli military prisons.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,432 Palestinian homes and other buildings were destroyed and 3,270 Palestinians were displaced.

There has also been an increase in violence by settlers – Israeli citizens living illegally on private Palestinian land in both the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem.