Israel launches major military operation in West Bank, 9 dead

Israel initiated a significant military operation early Wednesday targeting multiple areas in the northern occupied West Bank. According to Palestinian health authorities, at least nine people have been killed in the raids.

CNN reported that the Israeli military confirmed that the operation, which involved the Israeli Security Agency (ISA), was concentrated in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem. "The IDF has been conducting extensive operations in the refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarem to disrupt Islamic-Iranian terror networks," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on X.

Israel’s military released footage purportedly showing a strike on a militant operations room in Nur Shams, a refugee camp near Tulkarem. Additional video obtained by CNN depicted bulldozers demolishing streets in Tulkarem and moving through Jenin.

Katz accused Iran of funding and arming militants in the West Bank and smuggling advanced weapons through Jordan. He stated, "We must address this threat as we do with the terror infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents if necessary."

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported fatalities in Tubas and Jenin, with at least two deaths attributed to Israeli military fire and three others from a drone strike on the outskirts of Jenin. One individual was critically injured. Earlier estimates from the PRCS and the ministry had placed the death toll at ten.

[Information sourced from CNN]