RAMALLAH: Palestinian officials said Israeli forces killed six people in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, while the Israeli military confirmed it killed four militants in an air strike.
The health ministry in Ramallah said four Palestinians were killed and three were wounded “as a result of the (Israeli) bombing of a vehicle in Tulkarem camp,” in the northern West Bank.
The military said Tarek Doush, a militant from the “Tulkarem terrorist network,” was among those killed.
“Over the past year, Tarek recruited numerous terrorists, armed and funded by Iran and by Lebanese terror operatives ... to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israelis,” the military said.
“The terrorist network led by Tarek carried out multiple shooting attacks against IDF soldiers, as well as shooting attacks against checkpoints and communities near the Judea and Samaria security fence in the area of Tulkarem,” it said, referring to the biblical names for the West Bank.
The strike killed Doush and three other militants, the military added.
Earlier on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said two Palestinians were killed in a raid in the Balata refugee camp near Nablus.
One of the dead was 80-year-old Halima Abu Leil, who had been shot in the chest and leg, it said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed her death after transporting her to the hospital.
The ministry also announced the death of a 25-year-old man in the same raid. His passing was confirmed by the Red Crescent.
The Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of firing at its ambulances, “obstructing the delivery of humanitarian and medical services inside the camp.”
Violence in the West Bank has intensified since the war in Gaza began on October 7 last year, following Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 803 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
In the same period, Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of at least 24 Israelis in the West Bank, based on Israeli official data.
Israel has maintained an occupation of the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Palestinians say Israeli forces kill six in West Bank
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Palestinians say Israeli forces kill six in West Bank
International law at ‘breaking point’ amid ‘epidemic’ of conflicts: Survey
- Gaza war highlighted as one of the most concerning areas; atrocities in Sudan also noted
- ‘Well over’ 100,000 civilians have been killed in past 18 months amid ‘rampant impunity’
LONDON: A new survey of 23 conflicts worldwide has said more than 100,000 civilians have been killed in the past 18 months, with adherence to international humanitarian law reaching “a critical breaking point.”
The “War Watch” survey highlighted the war in Gaza as one of the most concerning areas in an “epidemic” of violence, while also noting concerning levels of atrocities in Sudan.
Taken under the auspices of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the survey covers July 2024 to the end of 2025.
Lead author Stuart Casey-Maslen said: “Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions — or inaction — will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether.”
In Gaza, local authorities say 18,592 children and 12,400 women have been killed since Israel invaded the Palestinian enclave in October 2023.
The report said Gaza’s overall population had declined by “about 254,000 people, a 10.6 percent decline compared with pre-conflict estimates,” making it one of the most deadly conflicts in the world. It noted that despite a ceasefire being agreed late last year, civilian casualties have continued.
In Sudan, after the fall of the city of El-Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces last October, widespread reports of survivors “being gang-raped by RSF fighters” — including in the presence of relatives — were recorded in numerous instances.
The survey said: “We do not know how many civilians have been killed in the conduct of hostilities during armed conflicts in 2024 and 2025, but we do know that the number is well over 100,000 in each of the two years.”
It added that “serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) were wrought … on a huge scale and with rampant impunity.”
The report said IHL and the laws of armed conflict, established after the Second World War to protect civilians, must be upheld by every state under the Geneva Conventions “in all circumstances.”
It added: “Addressing widespread impunity for serious violations of international law should be treated as a policy priority.”
The report suggested several policy ideas to reduce the number of people suffering, including arms export bans for countries “where there is a clear risk that the arms or ammunition to be delivered will be used to commit or facilitate serious violations” of IHL.
It also proposed limiting the use of drones and artificial intelligence targeting in civilian areas, as well as unguided gravity bombs or inaccurate long-range artillery.
In addition, it called for “systematic prosecution of war crimes,” saying more political and financial support need to be given to the International Criminal Court by members of the international community.
