4 Palestinians killed as Israeli military raids town in northern West Bank

Four Palestinians were killed by the Israeli forces which carried out a midnight raid into the town of Aqaba near Tubas city in the northern occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry said four Palestinians were killed and seven others injured, two seriously, in Israeli firing in Aqaba town.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa quoted local sources as saying that the Israeli army raided the Aqaba town and cordoned off a house, triggering clashes with Palestinians.

It added that the Israeli army detained one Palestinian after he was injured inside the besieged house.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied Palestinian territories amid a deadly Israeli offensive that has killed nearly 40,000 people in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023.

Over 600 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.