RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army on late Monday raided several areas across the occupied West Bank, triggering clashes with Palestinians.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said a number of Palestinians sustained suffocation from tear gas fired by the Israeli forces during their raid into the Al-Khader town, near Bethlehem city, in the southern West Bank.

The Israeli army also raided the town of Idna near the southern city of Hebron.

Clashes also erupted as the Israeli army stormed the Kafr Ni'ma village, near Ramallah city, in the central West Bank.

The Wafa news agency reported that the Israeli forces used bullets and stun grenades to disperse the Palestinians, but no casualties were reported there.

In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army also raided several villages in southern Nablus city, including Burqa, Qabalan, and Beita.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army ordered the cessation of construction on 14 Palestinian houses and facilities in the Hammamat al-Malih area in the northern Jordan Valley region of the West Bank.

Tension has been running high in the West Bank due to Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 43,900 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last year.

At least 785 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara