UPDATE 2 – Israeli forces kill another 8 Palestinians in West Bank, taking death toll to 171 since Oct. 7

UPDATES DEATH TOLL

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Another eight Palestinians were killed by Israeli army fire in the West Bank on Thursday, taking the death toll in the occupied territory to 171 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry said.

A ministry statement said a 51-year-old man was shot dead in the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, and a 30-year-old was killed in Dura town, south of Hebron.

Separately, the ministry said six Palestinians were killed and six others injured by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.

Witnesses said Israeli forces staged military raids into the Jenin and al-Amari refugee camps.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said a medic was injured when Israeli forces targeted an ambulance in Jenin.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Oct. 7 amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip.

At least 171 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,300 others have been arrested by the Israeli army in the occupied territory since then, according to Palestinian figures.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas a month ago.

At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed since Oct. 7. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600.