By Qais Abu Samra and Ikram Kouachi
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) — The Israeli army launched a raid on the city of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank early Friday, sparking armed clashes with Palestinians as its military offensive continues in the Jenin and Tulkarem governorates.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that Israeli forces stormed Nablus from multiple directions, raiding and searching Palestinian homes.
Armed confrontations erupted between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces near the Askar and Balata refugee camps in eastern Nablus, according to witnesses.
Palestinian armed factions, including Saraya al-Quds, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for engaging Israeli forces in gun battles and detonating explosive devices against them.
Eyewitnesses confirmed that the Israeli army withdrew from Nablus after a six-hour military offensive.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army continues its devastating offensive in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem, the northern West Bank, that started on Jan. 21, and has so far killed over 30 people, displaced thousands of people, and also caused wide-scale destruction.
The Israeli escalation in the West Bank follows a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza on Jan. 19 after more than 15 months of Israeli bombardment, which has killed over 48,200 Palestinians and devastated the enclave.
Since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 912 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.