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Israeli Troops, Palestinian Fighters Clash in West Bank after Incidents Near Settlements

Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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Israeli Troops, Palestinian Fighters Clash in West Bank after Incidents Near Settlements

Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Israeli troops move inside the Jenin refugee camp on the fourth day of an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, 31 August 2024. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

Clashes broke out between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters in the occupied West Bank on Saturday as Israel pushed ahead with a military operation in the flashpoint city of Jenin.
Israeli troops searched areas around Jewish settlements after two separate security incidents on Friday evening. In Jenin itself, drones and helicopters circled overhead while the sound of sporadic firing could be heard in the city, said Reuters.
Hundreds of Israeli troops have been carrying out raids since Wednesday in one of their largest actions in the West Bank in months.
The operation, which Israel says was mounted to block Iranian-backed militant groups from attacking its citizens, has drawn international calls for a halt.
At least 19 Palestinians, including armed fighters and civilians, have now been killed since it began. The Israeli military said on Saturday a soldier had been killed during the fighting in the West Bank.
The Israeli forces were battling Palestinian fighters from armed factions that have long had a strong presence in Jenin and the adjoining refugee camp, a densely populated township housing families driven from their homes in the 1948 Middle East war around the creation of Israel.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Saturday a child had been taken to hospital in Jenin with a bullet wound to the head.
The escalation in hostilities in the West Bank takes place as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas group still rages in the coastal Gaza Strip nearly 11 months since it began, and hostilities with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in the Israel-Lebanon border area have intensified.
Late on Friday, Israeli forces said two men were killed in separate incidents near Gush Etzion, a large West Bank settlement cluster located south of Jerusalem, that the military assessed were both attempted attacks on Israelis.
In the first, a car exploded at a petrol station in what the army said was an attempted car bombing attack. The military said a man was shot dead after he got out of the car and tried to attack soldiers.
In the second incident, a man was killed after the military said a car attempted to ram a security guard and infiltrate the Karmei Tzur settlement. The car was chased by security forces and crashed and an explosive device in it was detonated, the military said in a statement.
The two deaths were confirmed by Palestinian health authorities but they gave no details on how they died.
Troops combed the area following the two incidents. Security forces also carried out raids in the city of Hebron, where the two men came from.
Hamas praised what it called a "double heroic operation" in the West Bank. It said in a statement it was "a clear message that resistance will remain striking, prolonged and sustained as long as the brutal occupation's aggression and targeting of our people and land continue".
The group, however, did not claim direct responsibility for the attacks.
Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi said on Saturday Israel would step up defensive measures as well as offensive actions like the Jenin operation.
Amid the gunfire, armored bulldozers searching for roadside bombs have ploughed up large stretches of paved roads and water pipes have been damaged, leading to flooding in some areas.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel last October that triggered the Gaza war, at least 660 Palestinian combatants and civilians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian tallies, some by Israeli troops and some by Jewish settlers who have carried out frequent attacks on Palestinian communities.
Israel says Iran provides weapons and support to militant factions in the West Bank - under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Middle East war - and the military has as a result cranked up its operations there.

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Arab World

Israel Launches ‘Large-scale Wave of Strikes against Iran Infrastructure,’ Hits Lebanon

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Israel Launches ‘Large-scale Wave of Strikes against Iran Infrastructure,’ Hits Lebanon

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The Israeli military said it launched a wave of strikes on the Iranian capital Tehran on Thursday.

The army “has just begun a large-scale wave of strikes against infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran," a military statement said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it began new strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

An overnight Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle on a coastal highway in southern Lebanon, killing three people, Lebanon’s state news agency said.

The highway connects the city of Tyre to Naqoura, a border town near Israel.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military warned residents to move north of the Litani River, which serves as a key buffer line with villages south of it lying closest to the Israeli border.

The number of people killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in the four days since the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah reignited has risen to more than 70, with over 430 people wounded, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Wednesday.

It is not clear how many of those killed in Lebanon were civilians, but the Health Ministry said Tuesday that they included seven children.

Arab World

Lebanese State Media Says Israeli Strike Kills Hamas Official

Smoke rises from the city of Khiam after an Israeli bombing targeted one of its neighborhoods, coinciding with the incursion of tanks (AFP)
Smoke rises from the city of Khiam after an Israeli bombing targeted one of its neighborhoods, coinciding with the incursion of tanks (AFP)
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Lebanese State Media Says Israeli Strike Kills Hamas Official

Smoke rises from the city of Khiam after an Israeli bombing targeted one of its neighborhoods, coinciding with the incursion of tanks (AFP)
Smoke rises from the city of Khiam after an Israeli bombing targeted one of its neighborhoods, coinciding with the incursion of tanks (AFP)

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike killed a Hamas official on Thursday, the first reported targeted killing of a member of the Palestinian militant group since US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered regional war.

Wassim Atallah al-Ali and his wife were killed when an "enemy drone targeted their home" in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, in a pre-dawn strike, the National News Agency (NNA) reported, describing the man as a senior Hamas official.

The strike hit the area without prior warning and marked the northernmost strike so far in Lebanon.

Located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) north of Beirut and more than 180 kilometers (112 miles) from the Lebanese-Israeli border, Beddawi was targeted during the 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024, the Israeli military said in July it struck a Hamas figure in the camp.

Arab World

Lebanon’s Displaced Face Housing Crunch, Surging Rents, Municipal Curbs

A woman sits on the ground beside her belongings on Beirut’s seaside corniche (EPA)
A woman sits on the ground beside her belongings on Beirut’s seaside corniche (EPA)
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Lebanon’s Displaced Face Housing Crunch, Surging Rents, Municipal Curbs

A woman sits on the ground beside her belongings on Beirut’s seaside corniche (EPA)
A woman sits on the ground beside her belongings on Beirut’s seaside corniche (EPA)

As war erupted in Lebanon, scenes of displacement quickly returned to the streets. Roads filled with cars packed with families fleeing bombardment, while some displaced people spread out along the seaside corniche in Sidon and Beirut, waiting for shelter.

But the search for a roof has become an ordeal. Rental prices have surged to unprecedented levels, and available apartments are scarce, deepening a housing crisis that has forced many families to remain in their cars or on roadsides while they search for somewhere to stay.

In some areas, residents have refused to receive displaced families amid fears they could be targeted and anger at Hezbollah for engaging in the war again.

“As time passes, the chances of moving to safe housing are shrinking. There are not many options,” said Hassan Daoud.

“What is available does not suit us, or it is beyond our financial means,” he added, noting that some homes are too small for his family while others are far too expensive.

Daoud, a man in his thirties who fled on Monday from a village in the Bint Jbeil district, is still staying with his family of nine along the seaside corniche, living in their cars until they can secure suitable housing.

He said a woman asked for $2,000 to rent a semi-furnished apartment in the Barouk area of Mount Lebanon.

“Who knows how long we will stay there,” he said. “What we fear is that the war will drag on and we will be unable to pay rent for more than one month.”

Displaced families must now pay for many essentials they were unable to take with them when they fled. At the same time, their jobs and businesses have stopped, and their sources of income have dried up.

“We cannot afford such amounts,” Daoud said.

Multiple pressures

Like Daoud, thousands of displaced people have yet to find housing. For many, the immediate goal is simple: a roof to shelter their families.

But displacement carries heavy consequences, particularly as many people have yet to recover from the previous war.

Another form of hardship is faced by Haj Mustafa, who fled his village in Kafra in the Bint Jbeil district.

“It seems there is a municipal decision banning people from renting us homes simply because we are from the Shiite sect,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, referring to measures taken by municipalities amid fears Hezbollah members could blend in among displaced families.

Mustafa described a long and exhausting journey.

“It lasted more than 25 hours. I felt dizzy many times and was extremely exhausted. I am 80 years old and can no longer endure such displacement. It is extremely bad.”

Speaking in a low voice, he added: “Perhaps what happened to us could have been avoided, I do not know. But we are not well. That is all I know.”

Several Lebanese municipalities have issued circulars requiring residents, property owners, investors and tenants to notify local authorities in writing before signing any rental contract or occupying residential apartments.

Officials say the measures aim to ensure administrative order and proper application of the law.

Rising rents

Crisis profiteers are also exploiting the growing demand for shelter, either by sharply raising rents or imposing strict conditions such as annual contracts or six months’ payment in advance.

Mona, displaced from the city of Tyre, said: “I thought $800 would provide suitable housing for my family of four. But we were surprised that this amount is not enough for a small two-room apartment without furniture.”

“Why are they doing this to us?” she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Being forced into the war has already exhausted us.”

“We are losing, and we expect many more losses in lives and livelihoods. On top of that, we face rejection from fellow Lebanese of other sects. Of course we cannot generalize, but we are treated harshly and judged simply for belonging to a Shiite environment. They want to punish us for what the party did.”

Some landlords demand full payment for a year or six months upfront, such as $7,800 in advance for six months instead of $1,300 monthly. The conditions effectively limit available homes to wealthier displaced families.

At the same time, many Lebanese who experienced previous displacement and have the financial means kept their rented homes as a precaution and moved into them as soon as the war began.

Shelter centers

Meanwhile, many families are still waiting for rooms in official shelter centers. Some facilities have yet to open, leaving large numbers sleeping on the ground outside schools while they wait.

Dozens of people forced open the doors of some schools on Tuesday evening and entered them.

Lebanese authorities have published a list of shelter centers for displaced people, but the delay in opening some facilities has drawn criticism.

Sources at the Ministry of Education told Asharq Al-Awsat that shelter centers are opened gradually based on need, adding that the ministry responds immediately to requests from the Ministry of Social Affairs to open new centers.

According to official figures from the Disaster Risk Management Unit, the total number of shelter centers reached 171 on Monday. The number of displaced people stood at 29,347, while 52 people had been killed and 154 injured.

Mohammad Shamseddine, a researcher at the International Information organization, said the Bekaa region has seen fewer displaced people this time.

“The numbers are lower than during the same period in the previous war, when they reached 420,000,” he said. “Residents of frontline villages have still not returned since then because they lost their homes and livelihoods and the conditions for return and life there have not been restored.”

The United Nations said Tuesday that at least 31,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon due to Israeli bombardment and air strikes across several areas, particularly in the south and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told a news conference in Geneva that large-scale displacement has been reported after Israel issued evacuation warnings to residents of more than 53 Lebanese villages and carried out intensive air strikes there.