Israeli army raids 2 towns in West Bank

By Awad Rajoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army raided two Palestinian towns in the West Bank late Tuesday, firing tear gas canisters into and around a soccer field near the city of Nablus where children were present.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli soldiers stormed the town of Madama, south of Nablus, firing live ammunition.

Troops fired a tear gas canister into Madama's soccer field and three more around it, they added.

According to the witnesses, five children were inside the field attending a local club’s training session with their families when the army targeted the area, causing the children to suffer from gas inhalation, although they were treated at the scene.

Palestinian activists shared photos and videos showing white smoke filling the soccer field and a man helping a coughing child affected by the tear gas.

Clashes erupted as Palestinians responded by throwing stones, while the soldiers retaliated with live and rubber bullets as well as tear gas before withdrawing from the town, according to the same sources.

In the southern West Bank, Israeli forces also raided the town of Dura, west of Hebron.

Israeli soldiers patrolled the town's alleys and fired live bullets, forcing shop owners to close their stores and residents to stay in their homes, eyewitnesses informed Anadolu.

The incidents occurred hours after the Israeli army raided the city of Tulkarm, where the ongoing operation resulted in the deaths of two Palestinians.

Tension has escalated across the West Bank amid Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, since an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

At least 694 Palestinians have since been killed and over 5,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio