A military spokesperson said Wednesday’s operation followed a sharp rise in militant activity in recent months, with more than 150 attacks involving shooting or explosives from Tulkarm and Jenin in the past year.

He said the military assessed there was an “immediate threat” to civilians, but he said the operation was part of a broad strategy aimed at thwarting attacks.

The armed wings of the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah factions said in separate statements their gunmen were detonating bombs against Israeli military vehicles in the three West Bank areas.

By midday, the city of Jenin was relatively quiet but in the crowded refugee camp, a heavily built up township adjacent to the main urban area, occasional explosions could be heard.

A short distance outside the city, blood soaked the ground next to a damaged car and an impact crater from a drone strike the Israeli military said had killed three militant fighters.

“This terror threat in this area is not new, it hasn’t started yesterday and it’s not going to end tomorrow,” Shoshani told reporters.

Earlier, the military released the names of five Palestinians identified as militant fighters who were killed in Tulkarm on Monday. Two were claimed by Hamas and three by Islamic Jihad.

‘Something came down from the sky’

As well as the major raids in Jenin and Tulkarm, two of the most volatile cities in the northern West Bank, the military said forces also raided the town of Far’a near Tubas in the Jordan Valley, killing at least four people in a drone strike.

Masoud Naaja, the father of two young men killed in the strike, said he was giving water to some men who asked for a drink when he was wounded.

“In seconds, very fast, we felt like something came down on us from the sky and there was an explosion,” he said. “When I put my hand on my chest, it was full of shrapnel and blood.”

Clashes in the West Bank have risen sharply since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Israel, which says Iran has provided weapons and support to the militant factions, has stepped up operations, while Jewish settlers have also launched frequent vigilante-style attacks on Palestinian communities.

Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in raids and more than 660 – fighters and civilians – have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war in Gaza began nearly 11 months ago, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures.

At least 30 Israelis have been killed in attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the period, according to Israeli tallies.

The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian violence began on October 7 after Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1200 and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

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Israel’s Gaza campaign has since levelled swathes of the enclave, displaced nearly all its 2.3 million people multiple times, given rise to deadly hunger and disease and killed more than 40,500 people, Palestinian health officials say.

Internationally mediated talks to end the conflict continue, with Hamas and Israel trading blame for a lack of progress, and the United States expressing optimism that a ceasefire can be reached.

Reuters, AP