RAMALLAH, Palestine

Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in a military raid near the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, a local official said.

Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told Anadolu that three young men lost their lives after Israeli forces besieged and bombed a house and a mobile home in the town of Qabatiya town near Jenin city in the northern West Bank.

“Israeli forces damaged infrastructure and streets during its ongoing raid in the city and its camp since dawn,” he added.

Witnesses said Israeli forces backed by a bulldozer raided the town after midnight and destroyed infrastructure in the area.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 43,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 785 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 6,450 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara