Palestinians forced into lockdown as Israel’s West Bank assault continues

Save the Children says Palestinians are sheltering at home as Israeli raids injure dozens and lead to mass arrests.

Entire Palestinian communities have been forced into lockdown in parts of the occupied West Bank, a human rights group warns, as the Israeli military continues to carry out wide-scale, deadly raids in the territory.

Save the Children said on Friday that families in the northern West Bank have been forced to shelter inside their homes due to the fear of violence from the Israeli military, which launched an intensified operation earlier this week.

The lockdowns are “keeping children out of school, jeopardising family incomes and increasing risk of physical violence and child detention from the Israeli military”, the child rights group said.

Israeli troops laid siege to large swaths of the northeastern Tubas governorate, starting on Wednesday, and carried out a series of major raids in other cities and towns across the occupied West Bank, including Jenin.

Israeli forces have injured dozens of people in the Tubas area since the raids began, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported on Friday, while more than 160 others have been detained.