Israel launches large-scale West Bank raid as minister calls for Gaza-style operation

Israel’s military carried out raids and airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank early Wednesday, killing at least 10 Palestinians in an offensive Israel says is its most expansive in years.

Israel’s military carried out raids and airstrikes in multiple parts of the occupied West Bank early Wednesday, killing at least 10 Palestinians in an offensive Israel says is its most expansive in years. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had launched a large counter-terror operation overnight with the Israel Security Agency (ISA) in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem in the north of the West Bank. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the operation had been staged to “thwart Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructure,” claiming that Iran was working to establish an “eastern front” against Israel. “We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required,” he wrote on social media. “This is a war for all terms and purposes and we must win it.” The operation comes as Israel steps up its military operations in the West Bank, where clashes have become more frequent since Israel began its war in Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7. The IDF’s international spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said in a briefing that Israel had identified “a systematic strategy in Iran” of smuggling weapons and explosives into the West Bank.