Zürcher Nachrichten - Death toll rises as Israeli West Bank raids enter second day

EUR -
AED 3.832684
AFN 72.959602
ALL 98.462959
AMD 410.45402
ANG 1.873047
AOA 957.921829
ARS 1062.031565
AUD 1.668562
AWG 1.878277
AZN 1.784801
BAM 1.956057
BBD 2.098476
BDT 124.196346
BGN 1.95543
BHD 0.392152
BIF 3072.704402
BMD 1.043487
BND 1.411486
BOB 7.181945
BRL 6.350643
BSD 1.039337
BTN 88.357629
BWP 14.364891
BYN 3.401248
BYR 20452.35176
BZD 2.089175
CAD 1.498735
CDF 2994.808319
CHF 0.931781
CLF 0.03736
CLP 1030.865674
CNY 7.613704
CNH 7.60587
COP 4549.298739
CRC 524.369013
CUC 1.043487
CUP 27.652414
CVE 110.279514
CZK 25.108428
DJF 185.074358
DKK 7.458116
DOP 63.288329
DZD 140.667513
EGP 53.089373
ERN 15.65231
ETB 129.556951
FJD 2.417812
FKP 0.826423
GBP 0.829839
GEL 2.932642
GGP 0.826423
GHS 15.278011
GIP 0.826423
GMD 75.13081
GNF 8979.181761
GTQ 8.008054
GYD 217.438617
HKD 8.11073
HNL 26.382472
HRK 7.484837
HTG 135.967895
HUF 414.03543
IDR 16874.546735
ILS 3.801242
IMP 0.826423
INR 88.646863
IQD 1361.479186
IRR 43917.772492
ISK 145.170484
JEP 0.826423
JMD 162.611401
JOD 0.739936
JPY 163.242118
KES 134.177659
KGS 90.783029
KHR 4176.549681
KMF 486.395546
KPW 939.138018
KRW 1509.320727
KWD 0.321342
KYD 0.866114
KZT 545.821836
LAK 22747.993892
LBP 93069.24896
LKR 305.14016
LRD 188.634826
LSL 19.134218
LTL 3.081147
LVL 0.631195
LYD 5.106672
MAD 10.460077
MDL 19.14352
MGA 4903.645375
MKD 61.5431
MMK 3389.206159
MNT 3545.769827
MOP 8.320295
MRU 41.33344
MUR 49.25222
MVR 16.052761
MWK 1802.137182
MXN 20.931771
MYR 4.704048
MZN 66.682732
NAD 19.134218
NGN 1616.92545
NIO 38.245033
NOK 11.810924
NPR 141.372606
NZD 1.846749
OMR 0.401533
PAB 1.039337
PEN 3.870109
PGK 4.214555
PHP 61.430102
PKR 289.288974
PLN 4.258903
PYG 8104.066586
QAR 3.788799
RON 4.979106
RSD 117.045935
RUB 107.244587
RWF 1448.790677
SAR 3.91966
SBD 8.748133
SCR 14.551486
SDG 627.662417
SEK 11.505215
SGD 1.414024
SHP 0.826423
SLE 23.787187
SLL 21881.410825
SOS 593.978174
SRD 36.65877
STD 21598.081035
SVC 9.094197
SYP 2621.793487
SZL 19.129518
THB 35.780887
TJS 11.369896
TMT 3.662641
TND 3.311736
TOP 2.44395
TRY 36.710281
TTD 7.053928
TWD 34.050018
TZS 2468.324859
UAH 43.588037
UGX 3812.501768
USD 1.043487
UYU 46.356101
UZS 13399.76356
VES 53.713772
VND 26561.970104
VUV 123.884906
WST 2.882934
XAF 656.043343
XAG 0.035154
XAU 0.000398
XCD 2.820076
XDR 0.792804
XOF 656.043343
XPF 119.331742
YER 261.263155
ZAR 19.096059
ZMK 9392.640903
ZMW 28.762786
ZWL 336.002496
  • CMSD

    0.0000

    23.56

    0%

  • NGG

    0.8200

    58.5

    +1.4%

  • SCS

    -0.5800

    11.74

    -4.94%

  • RBGPF

    59.9600

    59.96

    +100%

  • RIO

    -0.0900

    58.64

    -0.15%

  • GSK

    0.1700

    33.6

    +0.51%

  • RELX

    -0.3100

    45.47

    -0.68%

  • CMSC

    0.0200

    23.86

    +0.08%

  • BTI

    0.1131

    36.24

    +0.31%

  • AZN

    0.9100

    65.35

    +1.39%

  • BCE

    0.0500

    23.16

    +0.22%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    7.27

    -0.14%

  • BP

    0.1900

    28.6

    +0.66%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    8.39

    +0.12%

  • BCC

    -0.2600

    122.75

    -0.21%

  • JRI

    0.1100

    12.06

    +0.91%

Death toll rises as Israeli West Bank raids enter second day
Death toll rises as Israeli West Bank raids enter second day / Photo: Jaafar ASHTIYEH - AFP

Death toll rises as Israeli West Bank raids enter second day

The death toll climbed Thursday as Israel pressed a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank for a second day, despite UN concerns it is "fuelling an already explosive situation".

Text size:

The operation was launched as violence raged on in the other main Palestinian territory, the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by war since Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attacks.

Israel began coordinated raids in the northern West Bank cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem early on Wednesday, in what the military called a "counter-terrorism" operation.

Columns of Israeli armoured vehicles backed by troops and warplanes were sent in before soldiers encircled refugee camps in Tubas and Tulkarem, as well as Jenin, and exchanged fire with Palestinian militants.

The army said it killed five militants in Tulkarem during the latest operations in the West Bank on Thursday, bringing the overall toll to 14 dead.

"Following exchanges of fire, the forces eliminated five terrorists who had hidden inside a mosque" in Tulkarem, the military said in a statement.

Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad confirmed the death of Muhammad Jabber, also known as Abu Shujaa, its commander in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.

The violence has caused significant destruction, especially in Tulkarem, whose governor described the raids as "unprecedented" and a "dangerous signal".

AFPTV footage showed bulldozers ripping up the asphalt from streets in the city as a precaution against concealed explosives. Authorities reported widespread damage to infrastructure, including to water and sewage networks.

The Palestinian health ministry said 12 Palestinians were killed on the first day of the operation.

Witnesses said the Israeli forces had withdrawn from Al-Farra refugee camp in Tubas where several Palestinians were killed on Wednesday.

- 'Explosive situation' -

An AFP photographer said clashes were still taking place in Jenin, where a drone was seen flying overhead.

Another AFP journalist said Israeli soldiers were still operating in Tulkarem.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said at least 45 people had been arrested since the start of the Israeli operation in the northern West Bank.

The United Nations expressed concern over the Israeli operations in the West Bank.

UN chief Antonio Guterres, in a statement, called for an "immediate cessation of these operations".

Guterres condemned the use of air strikes on civilian targets and "the loss of lives, including of children".

"These dangerous developments are fuelling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further undermining the Palestinian Authority," the UN statement said.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia to address the crisis, while Jordan's King Abdullah II appealed for a ceasefire in Gaza to stop the spread of violence.

Since the war began, at least 637 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the United Nations.

Nineteen Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during army operations, according to Israeli official figures.

- 'Don't know where to go' -

Violence also raged in Gaza, where the Israeli military on Thursday said it "eliminated dozens" of militants during the past day in close-quarters combat and air strikes.

The army said one of those killed in the Khan Yunis area was a militant who took part in the October 7 attack.

The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of 1,199 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized 251 people, 103 of whom are still captive in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 40,602 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

The war has devastated Gaza and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

"It's just catastrophic," said Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine refugees, or UNRWA.

"What we're seeing now is families, mothers, children dragging their belongings," she said on social media platform X.

"There's very limited access to any kind of vehicles for this kind of displacement now, and people just don't know where to go."

burs-dv/kir

Ch.Siegenthaler--NZN