The Israeli army has called in reinforcements as it intensifies its assault on the occupied West Bank for a second day.
At least 18 people have been killed since the start of the operation in the north of the territory, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Thursday.
Eight people were killed in Jenin governorate, six in Tulkarem and four in Tubas, while dozens of others were injured.
At least 20 Palestinians, including children, have so far been detained by Israeli forces, according to the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Committee and the Palestinian Prisoners Society, which warned Thursday that the number could rise as the raids continue.
In the Nur Shams refugee camp, the Israeli army said on Thursday it had killed five Palestinian fighters who were hiding in a mosque.
Among them was the commander of the Tulkarem battalion, Mohamed Jaber, also known as Abu Shuja’a, the army said. The army said Abu Shuja’a ordered the shooting and killing of an Israeli in Qalqilya in June.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group confirmed the deaths of Abu Shuja’a and the other fighters, saying in a statement that they were killed “after a heroic battle against the soldiers of the Israeli occupation.”
Israeli raids began on Wednesday in the areas of Jenin, Tulkarem and the Far’a refugee camp near Tubas, in the largest assault in 20 years, with the army saying it was targeting “armed terrorists who pose a threat to security forces.”
According to Tel Aviv Tribune journalist Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Tulkarem, while the Israeli army launches daily attacks on the territory, “this one is on a different scale” as its forces “attacked four refugee camps at the same time.”
“There is a lot of fear and anxiety among residents,” she said.
The operations expanded overnight to south of Bethlehem, to the Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron, to the city of Nablus and to the village of Nabi Saleh, northwest of Ramallah, according to Wafa.
Ibrahim also said the escalation is “not a surprise” to Palestinians “who have seen the raids intensify and expand every day since October 7.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that since Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 136 Palestinians have been killed and 41 injured in Israeli airstrikes.
All but one of the killings took place in the northern governorates of the occupied West Bank.
In a statement, Amnesty International condemned the Israeli military attack, calling it a “horrific increase in lethal force.”
“These operations are likely to lead to increased forced displacement, destruction of critical infrastructure and collective punishment, which are key pillars of Israel’s apartheid system against Palestinians and its illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had already suggested the forced displacement of Palestinians on Wednesday.
He wrote on X that responding to the threat of “terrorist infrastructure” in the Jenin and Tulkarem refugee camps by any means necessary includes “intense combat” and “in some cases… allowing the population to temporarily evacuate from one neighborhood to another within the refugee camp.”
Israel’s temporary evacuation orders have been used repeatedly in Gaza, displacing tens of thousands of people to “safe humanitarian zones” that are then attacked by the army.
Palestinian human rights groups, including the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Al-Haq, and the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, warned Thursday that Israeli tactics in the territory “mirror” those used in “Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.”
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Ibrahim reported that the West Bank had stopped repairing damage caused by Israeli raids “because the intervals between reconstruction and subsequent attacks are short, leaving them vulnerable to further attacks.”
She said that “many believe that Israeli forces are implementing a strategy to remind the people of their ultimate power and control over every aspect of their lives.”
