Hundreds of Israeli troops backed by armored vehicles have launched a raid on the Palestinian town of Tubas, near Nablus, in the largest military deployment by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since a ceasefire came into force in Gaza last month.
Palestinian media reported that a curfew was imposed on Tubas and some neighboring communities on Tuesday night, with roads blocked off with earthen barriers and families forced from their homes to allow Israeli forces access to the buildings.
Israel’s military and internal security services said in a joint statement that they had launched “a comprehensive anti-terrorism operation” that was expected to last for several days.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that leaflets distributed by Israeli forces in Tubas had informed people that the area “has become a haven of terrorism”.
“If you don’t change this, we will act like we did in Jenin and Tulkarm,” the leaflet warned, referring to two northern West Bank towns targeted by major military attacks by Israeli forces earlier this year, which caused widespread damage and displaced thousands of people.
In Gaza, further violence was reported overnight, including bombings near the central city of al-Bureij. The Israeli military said it had killed six Hamas militants who “probably” emerged from a tunnel near the city of Rafah, south of the devastated Palestinian territory.
There has been no independent confirmation of the claim, but there have been a series of clashes in recent days between militants trapped in tunnels in the half of Gaza controlled by Israeli forces.
On Tuesday, Hamas handed over the remains of Dror Orr, an Israeli hostage who, along with his wife, were killed when the Islamic organization’s attackers attacked their home during a surprise attack in Israel in October 2023, sparking the conflict in Gaza. The remains of two hostages – one Israeli, one Thai – remain in Gaza. Israel has agreed to release 15 Palestinian bodies for each hostage returned.
Overall, militants from Hamas and allied groups killed approximately 1,200 people and abducted 251 in Gaza during the attack. The Israeli offensive has killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians and injured 170,863, including hundreds since a fragile ceasefire took effect last month.
The next step in Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the conflict in Gaza includes developing an international body to govern Gaza and oversee reconstruction under a two-year renewable UN mandate. An armed international stabilization force is to maintain security and ensure the disarmament of Hamas, a key demand of Israel. The implementation of almost every part of the plan faces enormous challenges.
Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has increased since October 2023 and continues after the ceasefire.
According to the United Nations, Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began. UN officials attributed most of these deaths to “the systematic and excessive use of lethal force by Israeli forces, often including live fire, airstrikes and shoulder-fired missiles in densely populated areas, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, including children”.
According to the United Nations, at least 44 Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch said in a report that the forced displacement of the population of West Bank refugee camps by the Israeli government in January and February 2025 was a war crime and crimes against humanity.
The international campaign group said 32,000 people reportedly displaced from the camps have not been allowed to return to their homes, many of which have been deliberately demolished by Israeli forces.
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