The Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported that at least eight Palestinians, including two women and a teenager, were killed by Israeli forces and military aircraft during operations targeting the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps in the occupied West Bank.
According to the ministry, seven individuals lost their lives due to an Israeli drone strike and gunfire in the Tulkarem refugee camp, while one person was killed in the nearby Nur Shams camp. These incidents occurred following a series of violent military raids launched by Israeli forces early Tuesday morning.
Among the fatalities in Tulkarem were two women, identified as Khawla Ali Abdullah Abdo, 53, and Bara Khalid Hussein, 30, as well as an 18-year-old named Fathi Saeed Salem Obaid, who succumbed to gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen. The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that the women were killed in drone strikes.
In Nur Shams camp, the victim was identified as Mahmoud Muhammad Khaled Amar, who was shot by Israeli soldiers and later found deceased in the Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque neighborhood. Wafa also reported that several people were injured in the camp due to an Israeli drone strike.
The Israeli military released a statement claiming responsibility for the death of one Palestinian in a “counterterrorism” operation in Tulkarem. It also reported arresting 18 individuals and seizing numerous weapons during the operation. The military later confirmed that an airstrike was conducted on the Nur Shams refugee camp.
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced that two of its members were killed in Tulkarem. Additionally, an explosive device detonated by Palestinian fighters during the Israeli raid struck a vehicle carrying Colonel Ayub Kayuf, commander of Israel’s Menashe Brigade, causing injuries that required his evacuation for medical treatment.
Israeli military raids and further violence were reported across the West Bank late Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Wafa documented that two Palestinian men and a 15-year-old boy were injured during an Israeli operation in Beit Furiq, east of Nablus. In Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, four young men were shot by Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint, with one in critical condition. Another Palestinian man in Hebron was reportedly searched by Israeli forces, released, and then shot in the thigh without apparent cause.
Israeli bulldozers were also used during the Tulkarem raid, demolishing homes, shops, sections of the as-Salam Mosque walls, and parts of the camp’s water infrastructure, Wafa reported.
The intensity and violence of Israeli raids across the West Bank have escalated significantly since October 2023, following the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 968 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank between January 2023 and November 2024. Among the fatalities were 210 children, OCHA reported.