Israel launched a large-scale military operation Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, where the army said it killed nine Palestinian fighters, while the nearly 11-month Gaza war showed no sign of abating.
Violence has surged in the West Bank during the Gaza conflict sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attacks on Israel.
The war has killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry. It has also caused widespread destruction in the Palestinian territory, displaced nearly all of its 2.4 million people at least once and triggered a humanitarian crisis.
In the West Bank in the early hours of Wednesday, the Israeli military launched a series of coordinated raids across four cities -- Jenin, Nablus, Tubas and Tulkarem.
The army said it was carrying out a "counter-terrorism operation" involving airstrikes, ground forces and bulldozers.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said the Israeli forces killed at least 10 people, including two Palestinians in Jenin, four in a nearby village and four more in a refugee camp near Tubas. Fifteen others were wounded.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia and headed home to "follow up on the latest developments in light of the Israeli aggression on the northern West Bank," Palestinian official media said.
Foreign Minster Israel Katz said the military was "operating in full force since last night" in a bid to "dismantle Iranian terror infrastructure".
In a post on X, he accused Iran, Israel's main foe in the region, of seeking to "establish an eastern front against Israel" based on the "model" for Gaza and Lebanon, where it backs Hamas and Hezbollah, respectively.
"We must address this threat with the same determination used against terror infrastructures in Gaza, including temporary evacuation of residents and any necessary measures," he said.
"This is a war, and we must win it."
