RAMALLAH, Palestine 

The Israeli army on Wednesday detained 15 more Palestinians, including three women and a boy, during incursions across the occupied West Bank, according to prisoners' rights groups.

Israeli troops entered the cities of Jenin, Salfit, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Hebron and took 15 Palestinians into custody, including a boy, three women, and former detainees in Israeli jails, the Commission of Detainees' Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a joint statement.

During their incursions, Israeli forces assaulted and threatened detainees and their families, as well as vandalized their homes, the statement added.

The new arrests bring the total number of Palestinians detained by the Israeli army in the West Bank since October of last year to 9,700, including those who were released after being arrested, according to Palestinian figures.

Israeli troops have been entering various parts of the occupied West Bank regularly for the past few years, but their incursions have increased with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 576 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,350 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which, in its latest ruling, has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara