On Thursday, September 5, Palestinian health officials reported that Israel launched attacks in the occupied West Bank, resulting in six deaths, including the son of a prominent detained militant.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that the town of Tubas in the northern West Bank was attacked overnight, leading to five deaths, including Mohammed Zubeidi, without clarifying whether they were civilians or combatants.
Israel claimed that all those killed were armed militants involved in the attacks.
Mohammed Zubeidi’s father, Zakaria Zubeidi, was a renowned commander of a radical organization during the early 21st century Palestinian uprising and had participated in a rare jailbreak in 2021 before being recaptured a few days later.
The Israeli military mentioned that the younger Zubeidi had previously been involved in attacks against Israeli forces in the West Bank and was with a Palestinian armed group when targeted by the Israeli military.
Another fighter died in an airstrike on the densely populated Al-Faraa refugee camp after throwing an incendiary device towards Israeli forces.
The military released a video showing the exchange of fire between the two sides and stated that roadside bombs were found in the camp.
The history of the camp dates back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War surrounding the establishment of Israel.
Israel has conducted large-scale attacks in the region over the past week with the aim of dismantling Palestinian armed groups and preventing further assaults.
Palestinians fear the Gaza conflict may escalate to the West Bank.
On the same day, in the Deir Al-Balah province in central Gaza Strip, Israel launched an attack on a tent camp, resulting in four deaths and injuries to two children.
An earlier attack targeted a camp near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir Al-Balah. The hospital officials confirmed the death toll, with bodies seen by Associated Press journalists.
The Israeli military stated that they conducted precision strikes against a command and control center of Hamas and smaller Islamic jihad groups located within a humanitarian relief area.
A woman identifying herself as Umm Mohammed Wadi, who lived near the site of the attack, questioned why the victims were targeted while asleep, emphasizing that no hospital, school, or home is safe.
The Israeli military maintained that the attacks targeted only armed militants, aiming to minimize harm to civilians.
During the nearly 11-month conflict in Gaza, approximately 90% of the 2.3 million population have been displaced multiple times, with many residing in humanitarian relief areas. Israel occasionally conducts strikes in these areas.
The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry stated that since the beginning of the conflict, at least 4,086 Palestinians have died, and over 94,000 have been injured. The ministry’s statistics do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
The conflict began on October 7 last year when Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, resulting in about 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians, and approximately 250 people taken hostage. While some hostages were released during a ceasefire in November, around 100 remain in Gaza, with about a third believed to have died.
On September 1, the bodies of six kidnapped hostages were discovered in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah by the Israeli Defense Forces. The news sparked national outrage in Israel, leading to widespread protests and accusations against the Netanyahu government for failing to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas sooner.
(This article is based on reports from the Associated Press)