UPDATE - 9 Palestinians killed in Israeli drone strikes in occupied West Bank

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; UPDATES DEATH TOLL

By Anadolu staff

At least nine Palestinians were killed on Saturday in Israeli drone attacks targeting two vehicles in the northern occupied West Bank, said official media.

“Four citizens were martyred on Saturday in an Israeli bombing targeting a vehicle on the road between the town of Bal'a and the Iktaba suburb east of Tulkarm,” reported official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Earlier, the agency reported that “an Israeli army drone Saturday morning targeted a Palestinian vehicle on the Zeita-Attil Road, northeast of the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, killing five Palestinians.”

The charred bodies of five people were brought to the city’s Thabet Thabet Government Hospital, it added, quoting the hospital director.

One of the fatalities was identified as Yaytham Nuriddin Bleidi, 25, from the Tulkarm refugee camp.

Following the airstrike, Israeli occupation forces stormed and cordoned the scene off, blocking residents from approaching, Wafa added.

The Israeli army confirmed the attack without providing any details.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, amid a deadly Israeli offensive that has killed nearly 40,000 people in the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7.

In a landmark opinion, the International Court of Justice last month 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.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi