By Nour Abuaisha
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas said Tuesday that Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank will fail in executing Tel Aviv’s plans for displacement, annexation and settlement expansion.
“The Israeli occupation's operations and continuous aggression in the West Bank will not succeed in achieving its malicious ambitions to displace the Palestinians in the territory, annex lands, and expand settlements,” the Palestinian resistance group said in a statement.
It emphasized that “the ongoing Israeli military operation in Tulkarem will not weaken the solid will of the people or their commitment to resistance as the only option to end this occupation.”
Hamas encouraged Palestinians in the West Bank to “escalate confrontations and resist the occupation.”
Earlier Tuesday, two additional Palestinians were killed in a military raid in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, which said 10 others were also injured by Israeli army fire during the raid.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said a medic was among those wounded.
According to the organization, Israeli forces surrounded an ambulance center in the city and ordered staff inside to leave.
Witnesses said a hospital was also besieged by Israeli forces during the raid amid an exchange of fire with armed Palestinians.
Palestinians shared videos of the raid, with one showing a military vehicle ordering citizens to close their businesses and return home.
The Israeli army withdrew Friday from Tulkarem and Jenin, and their refugee camps, after a 10-day military operation in those cities.
It later announced, however, that the offensive in Jenin was ongoing “until its objectives are achieved.”
Tension has escalated across the West Bank amid Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 41,000, mostly women and children, since an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.
At least 694 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 5,700 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.
*Writing by Mohammad Sio