Israeli raid kills 8 Palestinians in West Bank

The Palestinian health ministry reported that an ongoing raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank has resulted in eight fatalities, including two women, while the military said it had "eliminated a terrorist".

The Ramallah-based ministry said seven were killed in the Tulkarem refugee camp and one in the nearby Nur Shams camp after the military launched a sweeping raid early on Tuesday.

Two women -- Khawla Ali Abdullah Abdo, 53, and Bara Khalid Hussein, 30 -- were among those killed in Tulkarem, the ministry said.

Eighteen-year-old Fathi Said Awda Ubaid was also among those killed there, it said, adding he was fatally shot in the chest and abdomen.

The ministry said that among the eight killed, one was killed in Nur Shams refugee camp which was also targeted by the Israeli military during its raid.

The Israeli military, which frequently conducts raids in the territory targeting individuals it identifies as wanted militants, said in a statement that it had "eliminated a terrorist" in close combat during a raid that began overnight in Tulkarem.

It was unclear which of the killed Palestinians the Israeli statement was referring to.

Residents of the Tulkarem camp reported that the raid, which began in the early hours of Tuesday, involved bulldozers destroying roads.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7 last year following Hamas's attack on Israel.

Since then, at least 811 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

In the same period, Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of at least 25 Israelis in the West Bank, based on Israeli official data.

Israel has maintained an occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Source: AFP