WATCH LIVE: Pentagon holds press conference as Israel claims to have killed a militant in a new attack in the West Bank

Pentagon press secretary Paty Ryder will hold a press conference on Thursday as the Israeli military says it has killed five more militants in the West Bank, including a local commander, in what appears to be the deadliest operation in the occupied territories since the start of the Gaza war.

The event is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Watch the video in the player above.

Israel says the strikes in the northern West Bank – which have killed a total of 16 people, almost all militants, since Tuesday evening – are aimed at deterring attacks, which Palestinians see as an extension of the war between Israel and Hamas, whose aim is to perpetuate Israel's decades-long military rule over the territory.

The attacks sparked concern at the United Nations and in neighboring Jordan. They also issued warnings to British and French politicians. At meetings in Paris, they stressed that the stalled ceasefire negotiations urgently needed to be restarted.

The militant group Islamic Jihad confirmed that Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, was killed in a raid in the town of Tulkarem. He became a hero to many Palestinians earlier this year when it was reported that he had been killed in an Israeli operation. He then made a surprise appearance at the funeral of other militants, where he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a cheering crowd.

Israel said he was killed along with four other militants in a shootout on Thursday after the five hid in a mosque. It said Abu Shujaa was linked to numerous attacks on Israelis, including a fatal shooting in June, and was planning more.

Israel's search and arrest operations continued for hours on Thursday as soldiers stormed several militant strongholds in the northern West Bank, including the city of Jenin.

There were also gun battles in Fara'a, a Palestinian refugee camp in the foothills of the Jordan Valley. There, the Israeli army is said to have attacked and killed a group of militants in a car. The number of people killed in this airstrike and their militant affiliation were initially unclear.

The army also said it had discovered weapons caches, explosive devices and other military equipment in a mosque in Fara'a and arrested another militant in Tulkarem, slightly wounding a member of the paramilitary Israeli Border Police.
Israel's large-scale operation in the West Bank began late Tuesday in several locations, killing 10 of its fighters, Hamas said. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported an 11th death, but did not say whether the death was a fighter or a civilian.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for an immediate end to the attacks and urged the Israeli government to comply with its obligations under international law and take measures to protect civilians.

“These dangerous developments exacerbate the already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further weaken the Palestinian Authority,” said a statement from its spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

With a total of 16 deaths in less than two days, this would be the deadliest Israeli operation in the West Bank since the Hamas attack from Gaza on October 7 sparked the war there.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the war began. Most appear to be militants killed in gun battles during Israeli operations such as this week's, but innocent civilians and stone-throwing protesters have also been killed. There has also been an increase in violence by Jewish settlers in the area.

Since the war began, attacks on Israeli citizens have also increased.

Israel conquered the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.

The three million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly unlimited Israeli military rule, while the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administers the cities and towns. More than 500,000 Israelis live in well over 100 settlements in the territory, which the international community largely considers illegal.

The raids focused on refugee camps dating back to the 1948 war for the founding of the State of Israel, during which around 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from what is now Israel. Many of the camps are strongholds of militant groups.

Hamas reiterated its calls for Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up, describing the raids as part of a larger plan to expand the war in Gaza. The militant group called on security forces of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which is aligned with Israel, to “join the holy struggle of our people.”

The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, also condemned the Israeli attacks, but his forces are not expected to intervene.