Israeli forces killed at least 14 Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities said, amid escalating violence that began more than a week ago after an Israeli boy went missing.

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Israel-Gaza War

Tensions in the occupied West Bank have escalated following the disappearance and subsequent death of an Israeli boy, leading to a spike in violence that has seen Israeli forces kill at least 14 Palestinians during a raid, according to Palestinian authorities. The raid took place in the Nurshams area, near the flashpoint city of Tol Kham, marking one of the heaviest casualties the region has witnessed in recent months. It commenced in the early hours and continued well into the following day, amidst a backdrop of increasing unrest in the area.

During the operation, which Israeli forces documented and shared footage of, a number of militants were reported killed or arrested, with at least four Israeli soldiers sustaining injuries. The exact date and location of the provided footage could not be independently verified. The Nurshams area, described by a resident as "Gaza number two," houses refugees and their descendants from the 1948 war. The ongoing violence has intensified after the missing Israeli teenager was found dead, an incident Israeli authorities are treating as a suspected militant attack.

The aftermath of the teenager’s death saw Jewish settlers setting ablaze houses and cars in a nearby Palestinian village as part of overnight searches. This incident, along with regular raids by Israeli forces in the West Bank and attacks by both Jewish settlers against Palestinians and Palestinians against Israelis, has contributed to a marked rise in the conflict. The US State Department condemned the killing of the Israeli teen while also expressing concern over the escalating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Amid these tensions, Palestinian officials reported the killing of an ambulance driver by Israeli gunfire while en route to assist those injured during a settler attack on the village of al-Sawiyah. Furthermore, the Palestine Red Crescent Society accused Israeli soldiers of obstructing ambulance access to the area following another settler attack on the village of Akraba, where two men were reportedly killed. Israel's military has not provided comments on the death of the ambulance driver but stated it was investigating the incident in Akraba.



Tensions rise in West Bank after Israeli boy goes missing

Israeli forces killed more than a dozen Palestinians during an extended raid in the West Bank, according to Palestinian authorities, on Saturday. It's one of the occupied area's heaviest casualties in months amid a recent surge in violence. The Israeli army released video said to show its operations during the raid, which began in the early hours of Friday in the Nurshams area, near the flashpoint city of Tol Kham. It said a number of militants were killed or arrested during the raid, with at least four Israeli soldiers wounded. Reuters was not able to independently confirm the date or location of the footage. Busts of gunfire could be heard in Nurshams as the fighting went on well into Saturday. It's an area housing refugees and their descendants from the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel. This resident described the situation there as Gaza number two, saying the camp was destroyed and uninhabitable. The war in Gaza has overshadowed continuing violence in the West Bank. It includes regular Israeli army raids on areas said to harbour militant groups, rampages by Jewish settlers in Palestinian villages, and street attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. But the conflict there stepped up about a week ago, after an Israeli teenager went missing in the West Bank, according to Israeli authorities. As people searched for the boy overnight, Jewish settlers entered a nearby Palestinian village and set houses and cars ablaze. His body was discovered the next day in what Israel said was a suspected militant attack. The US State Department condemned the killing of the Israeli teen, but also said it was increasingly concerned by violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Separately, on Saturday, Palestinian officials said an ambulance driver was killed by Israeli gunfire as he was making his way to people injured during a settler attack on the village of al-Sawiyah. While hundreds of Palestinians marched in a funeral procession for two men said to be killed during another attack by settlers on Monday on a village called Akraba. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Israeli soldiers blocked its ambulances from reaching the area. Israel's military did not immediately comment on the ambulance driver's death on Saturday. It earlier said it was looking into the Akraba incident.

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