UN calls for de-escalation as Israeli attacks in West Bank continue

Five more Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces on a second day of raids in the occupied West Bank, as the United Nations called for a de-escalation.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were “five terrorists hiding inside a mosque” in Tulkarm, near the border with Israel.

Israel began what it said was a major anti-terror operation in the West Bank on Wednesday. There have been conflicting death tolls as the operation unfolded in multiple cities.

The IDF said yesterday that nine militants were killed, five in Jenin and Tulkarm, and four in the al-Faraa refugee camp. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that 12 people had been killed in IDF attacks so far.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Israel to immediately stop the operation, saying it “further escalates tensions”.

He called on Israeli forces to “exercise maximum restraint and only use lethal force when absolutely unavoidable.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said five Palestinians were killed after a “gunfight” in Tulkarm.

One of those killed was identified as Mohammed Jaber – also known as Abu Shujaa – believed to be the local leader of the Tulkarem Brigade, a force backed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.

The IDF said Jaber was involved in several attacks on Israelis and was planning more attacks.

Elsewhere, in Jenin, ambulances were stopped and searched by military jeeps parked around a government hospital while security forces continued to operate at the city’s refugee camp.

The camp is home to armed groups as well as unarmed civilians, and has been the scene of fierce gun battles in the past.

There is currently little news coming from the refugee camp as Israeli forces are blocking access and the Palestinian telephone network is down.

Residents, medical staff and journalists have been trying to get a grasp of the situation inside through occasional explosions and gunfire since last night.

One person inside told the BBC it seemed quiet at the moment and they could hear drones buzzing overhead.

This is the second day of an operation that Israeli media say could last for days in the West Bank.

The Israeli military said it had made arrests and confiscated weapons.

Palestinians said homes and infrastructure were damaged in the attacks.

It was the largest such action in the West Bank since the second Palestinian intifada two decades ago.

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said the operation had a “clear objective: to prevent Iranian terrorist activity that could harm Israeli civilians”.

In recent days, Israeli politicians have accused Iran – a backer of both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – of trying to smuggle explosive devices with the aim of attacking Israel.

Israel “cannot sit idly by and wait for the bus and cafe scene to explode in the city center,” Mr Danon said in a post on X.

Violence has increased in the West Bank since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Israel’s activities in the West Bank “must not be seen as a precondition for extending the war from Gaza”.

In another development on Thursday, Mr Borrell said he was starting the process of asking EU members whether they wanted to impose sanctions on “certain Israeli ministers”.

He accused the ministers – whom he did not name – of “promoting unacceptable messages of hatred against Palestinians and proposing things that are in clear violation of international law”.