UN agency says past week has been deadliest for Palestinians in West Bank since November

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Thursday that the past week has been the deadliest for Palestinian civilians in the West Bank since November 2023.

In a post on the social media platform X, the agency warned of increasing violence.

"As the war rages in #Gaza, violence and destruction in the #WestBank increase by the hour.

"The past week was the deadliest for Palestinian civilians in the West Bank since November last year. Many people were killed, including 7 children. This is unacceptable. It must stop now," it said.

The Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank on Aug. 28, which has been described as the most extensive since 2002.

Primarily targeting Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Fara refugee camp near Tubas, it has resulted in the deaths of 39 Palestinians, the wounding of 150, and the arrest of dozens, according to Palestinian sources.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank as Israel presses ahead with its brutal onslaught on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 691 people have since been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation followed a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19 that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.