Israeli forces kill 70 in West Bank this year, Palestinian ministry says

Israeli forces kill 70 in West Bank this year, Palestinian ministry says

*Event date: 2025-02-03*

Israeli forces had killed 70 people in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year, including 10 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as reported by Al Jazeera. The ministry said 38 of the dead were in Jenin, where Israel’s major offensive was concentrated.

The figures were released as Israel’s sweep through the northern West Bank intensified. The operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” began last month shortly after the ceasefire in Gaza and has focused heavily on Jenin and surrounding camps. The ministry said the death toll also included victims in Tubas, Nablus, Tulkarem, Hebron, Bethlehem and occupied East Jerusalem.

The report described the operation as part of a broader pattern of raids, home demolitions and forced displacement. The Palestinian Authority’s presidency accused Israel of waging an “all-out war” aimed at ethnic cleansing and rejected any relocation or alternative homeland proposals. That language underscored the political weight of the military campaign, even as the immediate figures remained the central news.

Al Jazeera said Israeli forces destroyed 23 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp on Sunday and that about 15,000 Palestinians had been forcibly displaced from the camp. It also said 75 percent of residents had been displaced from Tulkarem camp, according to a local committee head quoted by Anadolu.

Doctors Without Borders condemned the escalation and warned of shortages of vital supplies in Jenin because of the blockade caused by the operation. The group said it had been supporting the local hospital with fuel and water and had also provided hygiene kits, food and mattresses.

The broader military picture is one of sustained pressure rather than a single raid. Israeli soldiers were reported to be using heavy armored personnel carriers in the West Bank, suggesting a push to expand operations. Al Jazeera said the escalation followed the Gaza ceasefire that took hold on January 19.

The article also placed the current violence in a longer arc. Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 882 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers in the West Bank. On event date 2025-02-03, though, the immediate takeaway was even simpler: the pace and intensity of the West Bank offensive had already produced a steep death toll, and the numbers were still rising.