ANKARA

The Israeli army rounded up 25 more Palestinians in military raids in the occupied West Bank, prisoners’ affairs groups said on Sunday.

According to a joint statement by the Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, the new arrests brought the total number of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces since last Oct. 7 – when the current Gaza conflict began – to 8,575.

The arrests mainly took place in the cities of Nablus, Ramallah, Hebron, Jenin, Jericho, Qalqilya, Jerusalem, and Tulkarm, and especially in the town of Deir Al-Ghusun, which saw an Israeli incursion on Saturday, resulting in the killing of at least six Palestinians.

During the Israeli arrest campaigns, the Israeli forces beat and abused Palestinians and damaged their homes and property, the statement also said.

Tensions have been high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 497 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,950 injured by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since Oct. 7.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi