Israeli army says launches operation in West Bank

Israeli security forces have launched an operation in the north of the occupied West Bank, a military spokesman said early Wednesday, with the Palestinian health ministry reporting two deaths in the city of Jenin.

“Security forces have now launched an operation to thwart terrorism in Jenin and Tulkarm,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a joint statement on Telegram with Israel’s Shin Bet security service.

The Palestinian health ministry said that two men aged 25 and 39 had been killed by Israeli forces in Jenin.

The operation comes two days after Israel said it carried out an air strike on the West Bank that the Palestinian Authority reported killed five people.

Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza, with more than 640 Palestinians killed by Israeli troops and settlers since Hamas’s October 7 attack, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 19 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, according to Israeli officials.