Israeli Strikes Kill 3 in West Bank, 17 in Gaza

The Palestinian Health Ministry has reported that three people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a home in the occupied West Bank. The strike took place overnight in the Tulkarem refugee camp, an area with a dense residential population dating back to the 1948 war around the time of Israel’s establishment. The ministry did not clarify whether the victims were civilians or militants.

The Israeli military confirmed that its aircraft targeted “several” militants in Tulkarem as ground forces conducted operations to locate and neutralize hidden explosives, with the operation still ongoing.

Violence in the West Bank has intensified since Hamas launched an attack from Gaza on October 7, which escalated the conflict in the region. Israeli forces have been conducting near-daily raids in the West Bank, often leading to clashes with Palestinian residents. Palestinian militants have also carried out attacks against Israelis during this period.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that at least 637 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli fire since the conflict began.

Israel took control of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state comprising these three areas. Israel has established numerous settlements in the West Bank, home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers who hold Israeli citizenship. Meanwhile, the 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank are under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority managing the main population centers.

In Gaza, Israeli tank and drone strikes on Wednesday resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people, according to hospital staff and Associated Press journalists who counted the bodies. In Khan Younis, nine bodies, including a woman and a child, were taken to Nasser Hospital, while Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received eight bodies.

These strikes in Deir al-Balah coincided with Israeli military warnings for Palestinians to evacuate certain areas in the central city.

Amid these events, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been engaged in diplomatic efforts with Egypt and Qatar to negotiate a cease-fire in Gaza, though significant challenges remain. The urgency of these efforts has increased following targeted assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, attributed to Israel, and subsequent threats of retaliation.

Egypt, a key mediator, expressed skepticism about the proposal aimed at narrowing the differences between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas is believed to still hold about 110 hostages captured during the October 7 attacks that initiated the conflict. Israeli authorities estimate that roughly a third of the hostages are dead. The October 7 attacks led to the deaths of around 1,200 people, primarily civilians.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ongoing conflict has caused extensive destruction and displaced the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many of whom have been forced to flee their homes multiple times.