Five Palestinians killed in Israeli raid in West Bank

Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Tammun Thursday, in a raid the military described as targeting buildings suspected of being used to plan terror attacks.

"The occupation forces killed five young men after besieging a house in the center of the village," Tammun mayor Samir Qteishat told AFP.

"The (Israeli) army took four bodies, and we found a fifth martyr, the charred body, after the (Israeli) forces left," he added.

The Israeli military meanwhile said it targeted "two buildings suspected of being used for planning terror attacks from Tubas and Tamun".

It said "soldiers identified armed terrorists who barricaded themselves in a building. Following an exchange of fire, five terrorists were eliminated, and an additional terrorist was apprehended".

The West Bank has seen an upsurge in violence since the beginning of the Gaza war, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

On Wednesday, a shooting attack in the center of the West Bank killed a pregnant Israeli woman and left another Israeli wounded.

Raids were ongoing Thursday and roads blocked after Israel's military chief vowed to find the perpetrators of the attack.

Israel's military in January launched an ongoing, large-scale operation in the West Bank that has displaced at least 38,000 people, according to the United Nations.

The operation, which Israel says aims to eradicate Palestinian armed groups, has primarily targeted refugee camps in the northern West Bank -- where Tammun is located.

Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 934 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to health ministry figures.

Palestinian attacks and clashes during military raids have killed at least 34 Israelis, including soldiers, over the same period, according to Israeli figures.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory are considered illegal under international law.