Israeli offensive on occupied West Bank enters second day as death toll climbs to 17

A disabled Palestinian man is reportedly among those killed in the large-scale raid that began on Wednesday, according to Wafa news agency

A Palestinian family flees an Israeli raid in Nour Shams camp, near the city of Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank. AFP

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Israel's large-scale offensive in the occupied West Bank entered its second day on Thursday where at least 17 Palestinians have been killed, reportedly including a disabled man, the official Wafa news agency said.

Ayed Mahmoud Nimer Abu Al Haija, 62, was shot by sniper in Nour Shams camp, near Tulkarm, Wafa reported, citing local sources. His whereabouts had been unknown until his family returned home to find him “covered in blood”.

The Israeli army said it was "investigating the incident in question", in response to a request for comment from The National.

Ambulance crews were unable to remove Mr Abu Al Haija's body amid a continued siege on the camp, Wafa said. Families began to leave after the Israeli army issued a forced displacement notice and gave residents four hours to move out.

Mr Abu Al Haija was one of 12 people reported killed across the occupied West Bank on Wednesday.

Further deaths were also reported on Thursday, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commander in Tulkarm Mohammad Abu Shuja'a, who was killed along with "fellow fighters", the group confirmed in a statement. Another person was reported killed by Israeli gunfire on Thursday morning, though no further details were available.

According to medical sources cited by Wafa, about 30 people have been injured since Israeli forces began their offensive on Wednesday, when Israeli troops backed by helicopters, drones and armoured personnel carriers raided the cities of Tulkarm, Jenin and areas in the Jordan Valley.

There was also a complete network blackout at Jawwal, one of the two main telecoms companies in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, a witness told Reuters.

Among those shot on Wednesday was Firas Bassam Alaqma, 35, a member of the Palestinian Authority's security force. He was critically wounded in Jenin's Al Hadaf neighbourhood and pronounced dead at Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin overnight.

The raids, which Israel's Army Radio called the largest operation by scale by Israel in the West Bank since 2002, prompted widespread condemnation, including from the UN and neighbouring Jordan. The Israeli army said it was conducting an anti-terror operation in areas it believes a network responsible for a failed suicide bombing in Tel Aviv last week is operating.

The Israeli army said all of those killed were Hamas militants, while the group has so far confirmed the deaths of three of its fighters in Jenin.

Amnesty International said it believed the intensified scale of Israel's West Bank operation would result in an increase in forced displacement, destruction of critical infrastructure and measures of "collective punishment", which have been key pillars of what it called Israel’s "system of apartheid".

Deaths by Israeli forces in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem have gone up by 250 per cent since the war in Gaza began, in comparison to the year before, the UN said in a July statement. The latest violence raises the death toll in the occupied West Bank to at least 669 since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7, according to Wafa.

About 10,000 people have been arrested from the West Bank and East Jerusalem during that same period, Palestinian detainee rights groups have said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned” about Israeli military action in the West Bank and demanded “an immediate cessation of these operations”.

“He calls on Israel to comply with its relevant obligations under international humanitarian law and to take measures to protect civilians and ensure their safety,” Mr Guterres's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “He urges security forces to exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable to protect life.”

In reference to reports of limited access to health care, hospitals coming under siege and Israeli forces blocking ambulances from reaching the wounded, Mr Dujarric said that “all those injured must have access to medical care, and humanitarian workers must be able to reach everyone in need”.

“These dangerous developments are fuelling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further undermining the Palestinian Authority,” said Mr Dujarric.