Seven Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli military operation near the West Bank city of Jenin, according to Palestinian authorities. The operation, which took place on Friday, involved an airstrike and an exchange of fire with Palestinians barricaded inside a building. The Israeli military claimed the operation was a “counterterrorism activity” and said an airstrike “struck several armed terrorists.” They also reported that Israeli soldiers “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and engaged in gunfire with those inside. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the deaths of seven individuals but did not specify whether they were killed in the airstrike or the subsequent exchange of fire. The Islamic Jihad militant group identified four of the deceased as its members.
The clashes in Jenin, a known militant stronghold where the Israeli army frequently operates, occurred a day after an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group revealed the government’s plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements within the occupied West Bank. These construction plans, announced by the Peace Now group, are part of the hard-line Israeli government’s strategy to solidify its control over the West Bank, making it harder to establish a future Palestinian state. The Palestinians claim the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Gaza — areas Israel captured during the 1967 Mideast war — as territory for their independent state.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, which was triggered by a Hamas militant raid into southern Israel on October 7. The raid resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the capture of over 200 hostages. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that over 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the war began, with most fatalities occurring during Israeli raids and violent protests. These deaths also include bystanders and Palestinians killed in attacks by Jewish settlers.
In Gaza, the ongoing war has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count, but it includes thousands of women and children. Cease-fire talks, after stalling for weeks, appear to be reviving. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Thursday that he was sending negotiators to resume the talks, following Hamas’ delivery of its latest response to a U.S.-backed proposal for a deal. The renewed negotiations seem to mark another attempt by U.S., Qatari, and Egyptian mediators to bridge the gap that has repeatedly hindered a deal in recent months. Hamas seeks an agreement that guarantees Israeli troops withdraw completely from Gaza and marks the war’s end, while Netanyahu insists the war cannot conclude before Hamas is eliminated. Israeli negotiators are expected to arrive in Doha, Qatar’s capital, as early as Friday for the talks, alongside American, Egyptian, and Qatari officials.
