‘Deal with West Bank in same way as Gaza’, says Israeli foreign minister

Israel should conduct its ongoing counter-terror operation in the West Bank in the “exact” same way as has been handled in Gaza, the Israeli foreign minister has said.

“We need to deal with the threat exactly as we deal with terror infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian civilians and any other step needed,” Israel Katz said on Wednesday.

Israel’s senior diplomat then went on to describe the counter-terror operation as “a war in every sense”.

Mr Katz confirmed that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched raids in several West Bank cities, including Jenin and Tulkarem, in a bid to dismantle Iranian-backed terror groups.

At least nine Palestinians were killed in the first stage of the operation, which the IDF claimed were “armed terrorists”.

03:26 PM BST

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03:24 PM BST

IDF ‘battling terror groups in raids on West Bank’

Israeli soldiers are trading live fire with Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank, the IDF said on Wednesday.

“We have met explosives already in the first hours, and we have met real-time fire exchanges with terrorists engaging in battle,” Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday, after Israel launched raids in the West Bank.

Israeli troops have targeted a “mixture of terror groups and terror cells”, he said, without specifying how long the operation would last.

Military sources told the Times of Israel earlier on Wednesday that they expected the raids to last “several days”.

The operation was launched at midnight local time on Wednesday, with Israeli forces targeting four main cities in the northern part of the West Bank: Jenin, Tulkarem, Nablus, and Tubas.

Nine Palestinians were killed in the first stage of the operation, which the IDF said included “armed terrorists”.

03:08 PM BST

Pictured: Israeli soldiers carry coffin of sergeant killed in Gaza

02:56 PM BST

‘The place I was in, I don’t wish upon anyone’

An Israeli hostage has revealed that he urged Benjamin Netanyahu to “put an end” to Israelis still being held by Hamas.

Farhan al-Qadi, who was rescued in what the IDF described as a “complex operation” this week, has since been released from hospital and returned to his home in southern Israel.

Speaking to reporters at a tent set up near his home near Rahat, Mr al-Qadi said he is “feeling 100%” but that “the place I was in, I don’t wish upon anyone — so do everything to return the people home”.

“I’m enjoying every minute I have in the light. I was in the dark for so long,” he added. “I’m enjoying every minute of family.”

02:35 PM BST

‘This is a declaration of war’

Dr Mustafa Barghouti, the general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, has told The Telegraph that the IDF’s operation in the West Bank is a “unilateral declaration of war”.

“They are trying to imitate what is happening in Gaza,” he said.

“Power and water supplies are destroyed, houses are being destroyed. The operation is expanding and they will expand it even further.”

Dr Barghouti said he did not believe the raids would stop after a few days, which military sources claimed to the Times of Israel earlier on Wednesday.

02:20 PM BST

IDF ‘blocking hospital access’, claims aid group

The IDF blocked access to a hospital in Jenin after storming the city in a raid on Wednesday, an aid organisation based in the West Bank has claimed.

Nibal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), told the Telegraph that the groups medical teams have “faced obstruction by Israeli forces”.

She told the Telegraph: “Jenin Governmental Hospital is being blocked, where medical teams and ambulances are prevented from entering and/or leaving the hospital making it hard to deliver healthcare services to the injured.

“Every minute matters in saving lives. It’s the critical line between life and death. The situation in the West Bank is dire, with injured and wounded civilians and obstruction of the work of medical teams and ambulances.”

01:54 PM BST

Watch: Hamas ‘terrorist tunnel’ in Gaza blown up by IDF

The IDF has released footage of the moment a three-kilometre long Hamas tunnel was destroyed in central Gaza.

01:46 PM BST

Islamic Jihad official killed in strike along Syria-Lebanon border

An Islamic Jihad official was killed in a fighter jet strike along the Syrian-Lebanese border, the IDF said on Wednesday.

The army said Faris Qasim was a “significant terrorist in Islamic Jihad Operations Division” responsible for the development of the group’s operational plans in Syria and Lebanon.

“He had a central role in the recruitment of Palestinian terrorists into the Hezbollah terrorist organization responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks from Lebanon against the State of Israel,” the army said.

“In recent years, Hezbollah, with Iranian direction and funding, has been systematically recruiting Palestinian operatives to advance and direct terrorist activity against Israel from Lebanese territory,” it added.

Additional Islamic Jihad terrorists “who were on their way from Syria to carry out terrorist activities” for Hezbollah in Lebanon were also killed in the strike.

01:31 PM BST

Nine killed as Israel launches major counter-terror raids in West Bank

If you’re just joining us, here’s a reminder of what has been happening in the West Bank on Wednesday.

Nine Palestinians were killed on Wednesday morning as the Israeli army launched a major counter-terror operation in the West Bank.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet intelligence agency said they struck “five terrorists in an operations room” in the area of Nur Shams in the northern West Bank.

The structure was used to conduct “terrorist activity and harm IDF soldiers operating in the area”, the army said, identifying one of those killed as Jibril Jasan Ismail Jibril who was released as part of the ceasefire agreement in November last year.

Islamic Jihad confirmed that its members were clashing with the IDF in Tulkarem and the Al-Far’a camp while the Al Aqsa Martyr Brigade said it confronted Israeli soldiers in both the Al-Far’a and Nur Shams camps.

01:18 PM BST

IDF destroys Hamas tunnel in central Gaza

Israeli engineers have destroyed a three-kilometre long Hamas tunnel located along the central Gaza Strip, the IDF said on Wednesday.

The IDF said part of the tunnel, located near the Netzarim Corridor, was destroyed in 2014 but was rebuilt by Hamas in the years since.

The Netzarim Corridor was set up by Israeli forces to separate the Gaza Strip into northern and southern zones.

12:45 PM BST

Palestinian president cuts short visit to Saudi Arabia

Mahmud Abbas has cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia after Israeli forces entered the West Bank to carry out a series of large-scale counter-terror raids.

The Palestinian president wants to “follow up on the latest developments in light of the Israeli aggression on the northern West Bank”, state media reported on Wednesday.

12:11 PM BST

Pictured: Car destroyed in Israeli West Bank raid

11:58 AM BST

UK committed to resolving Middle East crisis, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer spoke alongside Olaf Scholz, his German counterpart, in Berlin, where on Wednesday they announced a new treaty between their two countries.

The Prime Minister was asked about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with Sir Keir declaring that both nations have a “common commitment to resolve the crisis”.

“We agree on Israel’s right to self-defence in compliance with international humanitarian law, the need for de-escalation across the region, and for restraint and caution to be exercised,” the Prime Minister said.

“Unfettered humanitarian access into Gaza, agreement to a ceasefire and release of all hostages, and the importance of working together towards a political solution, based on the creation of a Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel, the only way to provide long-term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

“And that, of course, is not an easy goal, but it is one that we are committed to pursuing together.”

11:37 AM BST

Israeli troops ‘engaging in battle’ with terror groups, says IDF

Israeli soldiers have engaged in clashes with Palestinian fighters during large-scale raids in the West Bank, the IDF said on Wednesday.

“We have met explosives already in the first hours, and we have met real-time fire exchanged with terrorists engaging in battle,” Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s spokesman, told reporters.

The troops were targeting a “mixture of terror groups and terror cells”, he said, but did not give a timeline on how long the operation would last.

Israeli media reported earlier on Wednesday that the raids are expected to last “several days”.

11:22 AM BST

Hamas calls for escalation against Israel

Hamas and Islamic Jihad called on the Palestinian Authority to join ranks and take up arms against Israel following deadly clashes in the northern West Bank on Wednesday.

“The Palestinian Authority must make a historic decision to stand with the people and support the resistance,” Mohammed Al-Hajj Musa, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman, said.

Meanwhile, Hamas called on the Palestinian Authority Security Forces to “assume their responsibilities, to recognize the dangers threatening our national cause, and to join our people’s sacred battle”.

“We urge them to continue the path of resistance until the occupation is defeated, and our people achieve their freedom and right to self-determination,” the statement continued.

11:12 AM BST

Watch: IDF bodycam shows Israeli hostage rescue mission

The IDF has released footage showing the moment an Israeli hostage was transported to safety after being rescued from Gaza.

Qaid Farhan Al-Qadi, a Bedouin who was captured on Oct 7 while working as a factory guard, was returned home on Tuesday after soldiers found him in a tunnel by chance.

10:57 AM BST

Four killed after Israeli drone strike along Syria-Lebanon border

Four people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car crossing through a Syrian checkpoint near the Lebanon border, two security sources told the Reuters news agency.

Those killed included three Palestinian fighters and one member of Hezbollah.

Israeli and Syrian officials have not commented on the strike.

10:35 AM BST

‘Price to pay for escalating West Bank violence’

“Everyone will pay the price” for escalating violence in the West Bank, the Palestinian presidency said on Wednesday.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesperson for the presidency, said the IDF’s ongoing counter-terror raids in the West Bank “are a continuation of the comprehensive war on our people, our land and our holy sites”.

He also blamed the US for the escalating violence as it “provides protection and support for this occupation to continue its war against our Palestinian people”.

10:20 AM BST

Watch: Israeli drone strike in Al-Far’a camp

The IDF has released footage of a drone strike which was carried out in the West Bank’s Al-Far’a camp near the city of Tubas.

A spokesperson for the IDF said the strike killed four Palestinian gunmen who “endangered forces” by threatening Israeli forces carrying out a raid in the area.

10:09 AM BST

Pictured: Israeli military bulldozer moves through refugee camp

09:54 AM BST

IDF confirms counter-terror raids in three areas

The IDF has released a new statement confirming its counter-terror operations in Jenin and Telkarem, where it says Israeli soldiers “eliminated armed terrorists from the air and ground”.

Three armed terrorists were killed in an air strike on Jenin, the IDF said, while two more were killed across Jenin and Tulkarem.

Israeli forces also said four armed terrorists were killed in Al-Far’a.

A joint statement with the national police and security agency read: “Israeli security forces began a counterterrorism operation in Jenin and Tulkarem, eliminating armed terrorists from the air and ground, dismantling explosives planted under the roads and confiscating large quantities of weapons.”

09:32 AM BST

Ceasefire talks to resume on Wednesday

Ceasefire talks are expected to resume in Doha, Qatar, later on Wednesday, the Reuters news agency reported.

Israeli, American, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators will reportedly meet for “technical/working level” talks on securing a ceasefire in Gaza.

09:18 AM BST

Pictured: Israeli soldiers in the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem

Israeli troops were also seen operating in the Nur Shams camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Wednesday.

Israel’s military told the Times of Israel that it believed the city had been used by a terror network which carried out a suicide bomber attack in Tel Aviv on Aug 18.

09:09 AM BST

Four Palestinian cities targeted in IDF operation

Israel’s military confirmed it was carrying out operations in Jenin and Tulkarem to “thwart terror” but it is believed to be operating across four cities in total.

Clashes have also been reported in Nablus and Tubas.

It is the first time since the second intifada, a major Palestinian uprising between 2000 and 2005, that several cities have been targeted in this way.

08:52 AM BST

West Bank city ‘surrounded’ by Israeli forces, says governor

The governor of Jenin, one of the cities the IDF said it is targeting in its ongoing raids, claimed Israeli forces had “surrounded the city” on Wednesday morning.

Kamal Abu al-Rub claimed on Palestinian radio that entry and exit points to the city had been blocked.

08:46 AM BST

Pictured: Israeli soldiers patrol street in Palestinian camp

Israeli soldiers have been seen patrolling the streets in the Al-Far’a camp in Tubas, one of the cities were the IDF has focused its ongoing raids.

08:36 AM BST

IDF identifies terrorists killed in West Bank raid

The IDF said Mohanad Qarawi and Muhammad Yussef were among those killed in their ongoing West Bank raids, both of whom the army said were involved in “terrorist activity in Nur Shams”.

The military also claimed Adnan Jaber, who manufactured explosives “intended to harm security forces”, had been killed.

08:30 AM BST

‘We must win war for everything’, says Israel’s foreign minister

Yisrael Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, called on the army to deal with the terror threats from the West Bank the same way it does in Gaza.

This includes “the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required,” he said.

“This is a war for everything and we must win it.”

Mr Katz also blamed Iran for working to establish an “eastern terrorist front against Israel in the West Bank, according to the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan”.

08:29 AM BST

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