Israeli raids kill 8 Palestinians in West Bank: Ministry

Israeli forces on Friday killed seven Palestinians in raids across the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, as violence surges in the occupied territory in tandem with the Gaza war.

It said three men aged between 17 and 26 were killed in the northern city of Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the target of frequent military incursions. According to Palestinian news agency Wafa, two of them died when a drone strike hit a house in the city's refugee camp.

The Israeli army on Friday said its forces were "operating against Hamas" across the West Bank, with operations in Jenin and the northern city of Nablus.

In the southern city of Hebron, two more Palestinians aged 33 and 36 were killed during a military raid on Fawwar refugee camp, the ministry and Wafa said.

Later on Thursday, a 17-year-old Palestinian was shot dead also in Hebron, the ministry said. A Palestinian man, 29, died during an Israeli arrest operation in Qalandiya refugee camp between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

In the early afternoon, the ministry said a 33-year-old Palestinian man was "killed by (Israeli) occupation bullets" in Budrus, a village west of Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli army did not immediately comment on the latest Hebron and Budrus shootings.

The ministry also said two other Palestinians had been shot dead in Jenin late on Thursday.

The United Nations Human Rights Office on Friday said the situation in the West Bank had become "alarming and urgent."

On Thursday, three Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids in El-Bireh near Ramallah and the northern town of Qalqilya, and an Israeli was shot dead in a shooting attack near Einav settlement in the northwest of the territory.

More than 140 Palestinians have now been killed in clashes with Israeli troops or settlers since Oct.7, health ministry figures show.