Israel forces kill five Palestinians in West Bank strikes, raid

TAMMUN, Palestinian Territories — Israeli troops killed five Palestinians in air strikes and a raid in the north of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, sources on both sides said.

Tubas governor Ahmad Saad told AFP that four Palestinians were killed in Tammun and one in Tubas.

"The [Israeli] forces are withholding the bodies of the five martyrs, and when we inquired with the liaison office, we were officially informed about the five martyrs," Saad said.

Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that "the army entered Tubas at dawn and shot and killed a young man hiding in his home".

The Israeli army confirmed it had launched a "counterterrorism operation" in the city, during which it "eliminated one terrorist" and "hit others during an exchange of fire".

It said its troops had "arrested wanted suspects and located and confiscated weapons".

Earlier, the Israeli police said they had shot dead a Palestinian teenager who was "climbing the wall" separating Jerusalem from the West Bank to "throw Molotov cocktails".

The 16-year-old was taken to hospital for treatment but was pronounced dead, the police said in a statement shortly after midnight Tuesday.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the Israeli war on Gaza

 broke out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on October 7. At least 625 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian official figures.