At least five individuals were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Tubas, West Bank, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The organization retrieved the bodies from the scene and transported them to a nearby hospital.
The Israeli army confirmed the strike, stating that an Israel Air Force aircraft targeted an armed terrorist cell as part of ongoing counter-terrorism operations.
Earlier, an Israeli airstrike on September 10 in eastern Lebanon killed a Hezbollah commander, Mohammad Qassem al-Shaer, who was reportedly struck while riding a motorcycle in the Bekaa Valley. Hezbollah responded with rocket attacks.
Violence in the West Bank has surged following Israel’s assault on Gaza, which began after a Hamas attack on October 7 last year. The offensive has claimed over 41,100 lives, predominantly women and children, and has led to intensified military actions, settler violence, and Palestinian street attacks.
Since the beginning of the Gaza conflict, at least 694 Palestinians have been killed and over 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.
The ongoing conflict is rooted in long-standing disputes over territory occupied by Israel since 1967, with Palestinians seeking an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Most international observers consider Israeli settlements in these areas illegal, though Israel dismisses these views.
Recent reports highlight growing violence from Israeli settlers in Palestinian areas, such as Huwara and Burqa, with little legal recourse for the affected Palestinians. A January report by the Israeli rights group Yesh Din revealed that nearly 94% of investigations into settler violence from 2005-2023 were closed without indictment.
As global pressure mounts on Israel over its actions in Gaza, including from the United States, there is increasing demand for sanctions and measures to curb settlement expansion, a crucial aspect of the two-state solution favored by many Western countries.
