Israeli army re-enters Tulkarm in West Bank

By Awad Rajoob

TULKARM, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army re-entered the city of Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank late Tuesday, surrounding a house.

State-run Palestine TV reported that Israeli forces “entered Tulkarm from its southwestern axis.”

Gunfire was reported around the besieged house in the Azbat al-Jarad area, with the army targeting it using a suicide drone, it added.

The Israeli incursion into Tulkarm came just hours after the army withdrew from the city, leaving five Palestinians dead.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a deadly Israeli offensive that has killed nearly 39,100 people in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 586 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and called for the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio