During the Gaza war, Israeli forces have carried out multiple ground incursions, occasionally accompanied by airstrikes, into several Palestinian cities and refugee camps in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including Jenin and Tulkarm. The Israeli incursions have led to clashes with Palestinian militants. At least 806 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the conflict began, including 143 children. The United Nations recorded more than 800 Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians between October 2023 and May 2024. Israel arrested an estimated 10,000 West Bank Palestinians between 7 October 2023 and August 2024. On 15 December, Doctors Without Borders reported 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in recorded history.
Background
Tensions and violence between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank were escalating long before the start of the 2023 war. According to the UN, 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians on record, and the year to September 2023 already represented the deadliest year in history for children in the West Bank.
Incursions into Jenin
October 2023
On 12 October 2023, Israel conducted a raid in Jenin, West Bank, resulting in the reported detention of a Hamas fighter and injuries to other individuals. On 14 October 2023, another raid was launched in the city, leading to the deaths of multiple people.
On 22 October 2023, an airstrike carried out by the Israel Defense Forces targeted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups organising an "imminent terror attack" at the Al-Ansar Mosque, causing extensive damage. Two people were killed, and three others were injured. The IDF asserted that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) had been operating from a compound beneath the mosque. The Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, characterized the attack as a "dangerous escalation in the use of warplanes" and expressed concern over the adoption of tactics from Gaza.
On 27 October, Ayser Mohammad Al-Amer, a senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, was reportedly killed during a clash with the IDF. On 29 October, the IDF removed the Jenin Horse, a monument built in 2003 out of scrap metal, including pieces of the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance where Khalil Suleiman was killed by the IDF. On 30 October, Israeli forces again raided Jenin, engaging in fighting that reportedly killed two Palestinians.
November 2023
On 17 November, the IDF reportedly engaged in clashes with militants from the Al-Quds Brigades and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin over several hours. This confrontation resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including three Hamas fighters and two civilians. Another clash occurred on 29 November, during which the IDF reportedly clashed with PIJ militants, leading to the death of two militants.
On 29 November, the IDF killed Muhammad al-Zubaidi, a prominent militant leader of the Jenin Battalion responsible for coordinating the efforts of armed groups in the Jenin Camp. Wissam Ziad Hanoun was also killed. During the raid suspects threw explosive devices at IDF soldiers and they responded with live fire. CCTV footage depicting the killings show 14-year old Basel Abu Al-Wafa being shot at multiple times, sustaining mortal wounds while 8-year old Adam Al-Ghool was killed with a shot to the head.
December 2023
On 5 December, clashes resulted in the injury of five Palestinians. On 6 December, a violent confrontation with the IDF resulted in the death of one teenage protester and injuries to two others. On 12 December, five Palestinians were killed, while another man was killed later that day. On 13 December, a Palestinian protester was killed, and two others along with a child were wounded by Israeli gunfire. On 14 December, Israel stated its forces had arrested 60 wanted individuals, confiscated more than 50 weapons, discovered explosives and funds exceeding NIS 100,000, and uncovered underground shafts, explosives labs, and observation posts. According to IDF statements, forces reportedly destroyed infrastructure, seized ammunition, and targeted two squads with the air force, resulting in seven reported deaths and injuries. Over ten individuals, and a total of 12 Palestinians were killed in reported clashes.
A 17-year-old was reportedly shot and killed by IDF forces inside the Khalil Suleiman hospital compound near the Jenin refugee camp, according to accounts by the Doctors Without Borders.
A female Israeli soldier shot and killed a Palestinian man on 22 December for attempting to move his car. Raids on 24 December in Jenin and multiple other areas in the West Bank resulted in more than ten arrests. At least ten houses were raided on 25 December.
January 2024
A dozen raids were reported on 2 January, with a violent raid in Jenin and violent confrontations in Azzun, resulting in the death of four Palestinians. Raids were reported in Ya'bad on 5 January, with an 11-year-old wounded. A doctor described a drone strike on 7 January, stating one man "was decapitated. It seemed the missile directly hit him. Others had their limbs severed." All entrances into Jenin were reported blocked on 9 January. The chair of the Jenin high-level committee stated Israel had destroyed streets, electric poles, water lines, and a monument to Shireen Abu Akleh. The British charity Action Around Bethlehem Children with Disability stated it had been damaged by Israeli forces.
On 13 January, Israeli soldiers surrounded the Al Amal Hospital, searching ambulances. A young man was killed during a raid and his brother was arrested on 25 January. The IDF destroyed roundabouts on 28 January. Three young men were reportedly beaten severely by IDF troops in a raid on Ya'bad on 29 January. On 30 January, an additional three young Palestinian men, claimed by the IDF to be militants, were assassinated in a Jenin hospital by Israeli commandos disguised in medical uniforms. The men were reportedly killed in their beds while they were asleep. Some legal analysis have remarked that these actions might constitute a war crime.
February 2024
Two young men in their late-twenties were hospitalized after being beaten for several hours by Israeli soldiers and left in an olive grove. A raid on 13 February destroyed infrastructure, including water, sewage, and internet networks. A young man was killed by Israeli forces on 13 February, after the soldiers refused to allow medical personnel to reach him. Clashes were reported in Qabatiya after Israeli forces destroyed people's property and vehicles. Israeli Army Radio stated that three Palestinians were killed in an air raid on 20 February. A 25-year-old was killed on 21 February. A strike on 22 February killed one and wounded 15; two more people died from this strike in the following days. The Israeli forces put the village of Jalbun under military lockdown after Israeli demolitions of Palestinian shacks led to confrontations and an arrest.
March 2024
An 18-year-old boy died from gunshot wounds to the head on 5 March. Two were killed during a raid on 12 March. Israeli forces opened fire on the Jenin Government Hospital wounding civilians standing in front of the emergency department and killing two. An Israeli airstrike killed three people on 21 March, the second airstrike in less than a month. Doctors reported four casualties following an Israeli drone raid on 27 March. Al Jazeera English reported Israel's "frequent use of drones to kill Palestinians." A 19-year-old was reported dead from serious gunshot wounds. According to the official Palestinian news agency, a 13-year-old was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Qabatiya.
May 2024
Authorities stated a teacher and a doctor, as well as two teenagers, were among seven people killed on 21 May 2024. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society posted footage reportedly showing Israeli troops preventing medics from transporting a wounded person. Defense for Children International called on the U.S. to stop providing arms used to kill children after Israeli snipers killed two 15-year-old boys. Verified footage from the raid showed Israeli forces abusing stripped Palestinian men.
June 2024
In mid-June 2024, Israeli forces reportedly beat a young man from Jenin into unconsciousness.
January 2025
On 21 January, Israeli forces launched an operation in Jenin, with Palestinian media reported that several airstrikes targeted the city and the refugee camp as well as a raid by Israeli soldiers, killing at least ten Palestinians and nearly 40 others were injured. On 23 January, two Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid, with Israeli forces stated that both of them were members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and were wanted for perpetrating an attack earlier that month which killed three Israelis. On 30 January, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces inside the Jenin refugee camp.
February 2025
On 1 February, five Palestinians, including a teenager, were killed by Israeli drone strikes in the city.
September 2025
On 8 September, Israeli forces in Jenin killed two 14 year old Palestinian boys during a raid. On 24 September, a 19-year-old man was killed during an Israeli raid near Anzah, Jenin after the IDF claimed that he "threw an explosive device" at them.
May 2026
On 16 May, a 34-year-old Palestinian man was killed after Israeli forces raided and opened fire at the Jenin refugee camp. The IDF later stated that Israeli soldiers shot him after the man tried to "infiltrate" the area, wherein "the soldiers are operating, and the entry is prohibited".
Incursions into Tulkarm
The Israeli military conducted invasions and operations on the West Bank city of Tulkarm and the city's two camps (Tulkarm camp and Nur Shams camp) in 2023 and 2024, in part due to the city being the stronghold of the Tulkarm Brigade. The invasions of the city took place before and during the October 7 attacks that erupted on October 7, 2023. The Israeli invasion of Tulkarm was met with Palestinian, Arab, Islamic, and international condemnation. One of the largest incursions occurred on October 19, 2023, which lasted for about thirty continuous hours, leaving thirteen Palestinians dead and more than thirty wounded, as well as causing extensive destruction to homes, streets and infrastructure. The incursion on January 3, 2024, which lasted for about 40 hours, was also significant. Additional prominent incursion include the incursion on January 17, 2024, which lasted for about 45 continuous hours, leaving eight Palestinians dead and causing massive destruction, while the incursion of April 18, 2024 lasted for more than 60 continuous hours, leaving a large number of Palestinian citizens dead and causing immense destruction. The continuous incursion on Tulkarm represented the largest, longest, most extensive, and most destructive invasions on the West Bank since the Second Intifada.
The Israeli invasion of Tulkarm coincided with statements made by Israeli officials calling for the destruction of the city. On May 29, 2024, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that "terror must be eliminated everywhere, even if it means turning Tulkarm into a city like Gaza"; on May 30, 2024, Smotrich also said that "if terrorism continues, we will turn Tulkarm into a city like the Gaza Strip"; and on July 4, 2024, Smotrich again called for the destruction of Tulkarm, saying: "Tulkarm must become a city of ruins".
March 2023
March 10, 2023 operation
On March 10, 2023, Israel announced a military operation in the city of Tulkarm, which includes the headquarters of the Tulkarm Brigade. Violent armed clashes broke out in the city at dawn between members of the brigade and the invading Israeli army forces. The clashes included members of the Tulkarm Brigade targeting Israeli army forces with explosive devices. The Tulkarm Brigade said in a brief statement at dawn that its members "are fighting the battle of the martyrs on the land of the city of Tulkarm. The sons of the Rapid Response are still fighting the battle of dignity and have inflicted casualties and losses on the enemy".
May 2023
May 6, 2023 operation
On the morning of May 6, 2023, Israeli special forces carried out a military operation in Tulkarm camp in Tulkarm city and assassinated two Palestinians from the Qassam Brigades in Tulkarm Brigade after clashing with them. They were "Samir Salah al-Shafi'i" (22 years old) and "Hamza Jamil Khrioush" (22 years old). Israel accused them of carrying out several shooting operations against various checkpoints, settlements, and Israeli vehicles in the Tulkarm area.