JERUSALEM

The Israeli army launched a military operation in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, the military said on Tuesday.

A military statement did not specify the cities and towns where the operation is taking place or its timeframe.

The announcement came shortly after two Palestinians were killed in an airstrike in the town of Tubas, south of Tubas in the northern West Bank.

The army said weapons were seized and a number of Palestinians detained in the area.

Another Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire in the village of Talouza, northeast of Nablus.

The fatalities came one day after three illegal Israeli settlers were killed in a shooting attack in the northern West Bank on Monday.

Tension has been running high across the occupied Palestinian territories due to Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 45,900 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 843 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice 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 Rania Abu Shamala