The Israeli military and internal security service said in a brief joint statement that they had begun “a broad counter-terrorism operation” in the north of the Palestinian territory.
They added they would “not allow terrorism to take root in the area and are acting proactively to thwart it”, noting further details on the operation would follow at a later stage.
The Israeli army confirmed to AFP that it was a new operation, and not part of the one launched in January 2025 dubbed “Iron Wall”, which primarily targeted Palestinian refugee camps in the northern West Bank.
The operation, which began overnight, was taking place in predominantly agricultural Tubas, the northeasternmost of the 11 governorates in the West Bank.
Ahmed al-Asaad, governor of the Tubas region, told AFP: “This is the first time that the entire governorate is included — the whole governorate is now under Israeli army operations.”
Asaad said Israeli forces raided the towns of Tammun and Tayasir, and the Al-Faraa Palestinian refugee camp.
“The army has closed the city entrances with earth mounds, so there is no movement at all,” he added.
He told AFP that “an Apache helicopter” was involved in the operation, and claimed it had fired in the direction of residential areas.
“This is a political operation, not a security one.”
Hamas and Islamic Jihad condemned the Israeli operation.
Violence in the West Bank has soared since Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war, and has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas came into effect last month.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.
