Israeli army launches house-to-house raid in Palestinian town amid West Bank escalation

The Israeli army launched a house-to-house raid in the Palestinian town of Azzun, east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank on Tuesday, in the latest escalation in the occupied territory, witnesses said.

Israeli forces searched several houses in the town and held around 200 people for field interrogation before setting them free, witnesses said.

Several people, however, were taken into custody during the raid.

Footage and photos shared by activists on social media showed Palestinian residents stripped to their underwear during their arrest.

The same town has seen several Israeli raids as it is located on a main road frequented by illegal Israeli settlers between the cities of Qalqilya and Ramallah cities in the northern West Bank.

The raid came as the Israeli army has continued a deadly military offensive in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, killing at least 65 Palestinians and displacing thousands.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 931 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.