Five Palestinians were killed on Thursday, with an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza accounting for two deaths, according to medics. Separately, three Palestinians were shot dead in the occupied West Bank, as reported by Palestinian authorities and the Israeli military. The Israeli military stated that the Gaza strike targeted militants.
In the West Bank, an Israeli military official reported that an Israeli civilian, believed to be a settler, killed two Palestinians after they stabbed and wounded an Israeli during a dispute. In a distinct incident, Israeli forces shot a third Palestinian following a separate stabbing attack that injured an Israeli soldier. The Palestinian Authority’s news agency WAFA claimed that Israeli military personnel and settlers assaulted Palestinians from Beit Furik as they attempted to extinguish a fire.
Tensions remain high in the West Bank due to escalating settler violence and Israel's plans for new settlements. Approximately 700,000 Israeli settlers reside among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most foreign governments consider Israel’s settlement activities in the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule, to be illegal under international law, a view Israel disputes.
These fatalities contribute to the ongoing conflict, with over 1,160 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since a fragile ceasefire began in October. Palestinian medics assert that the majority of Palestinian casualties are civilians. Israel continues to conduct nearly daily strikes on Gaza, targeting what it claims are Hamas militants, more than nine months after a U.S.-backed ceasefire was implemented.
