Ten Palestinians dead in West Bank violence

Israeli forces have killed at least 10 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The Israeli military says it carried out two separate air strikes in the north of the territory targeting members of armed groups.

There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

The local health ministry says at least 600 Palestinians – members of armed groups, attackers and civilians – have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

At least 17 Israelis, including 12 security forces personnel, have also been killed in the West Bank, according to a UN tally.

Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah condemned the recent violence, as well as alleged torture and abuse of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, as the “crossing of all red lines”.

Footage from Aqaba, near Tubas, shows a house stained with blood. Locals say that a boy of 14 was among four killed after a dawn raid by Israeli forces resulted in violent confrontations.

Meanwhile, in Jenin – a regular flashpoint – an Israeli aircraft attacked what the Israeli military described as “terrorist cells” killing at least five.

A column of Israeli armoured personnel carriers was filmed entering the city, while armoured bulldozers dug up roads.

Tensions remain very high across the West Bank. In the south of the territory, a Palestinian was killed after allegedly stabbing an Israeli soldier in Beit Jala, at a main checkpoint on a road to Jerusalem.