Two Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during widescale raid in Nablus

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israeli forces on Tuesday during a widescale military operation in the city of Nablus, amid Israel's months-long assault in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli army said in a statement on X that the army, internal security service (Shin Bet) and the Border Police carried out a military operation on Tuesday in the Kasbah neighborhood in Nablus' Old City.

It added more than 250 buildings were searched and six individuals were arrested.

The army claimed that during a search operation, two men attempted to take a soldier's gun, prompting troops to open fire and kill them both. It added that four Israeli soldiers were also wounded in the shooting.

Palestinian media identified the slain men as brothers Nidal and Khaled Omaira. They are among hundreds of Palestinians killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and extremist Jewish settlers in recent months.

Dozens of Israeli military vehicles entered Nablus at dawn, imposing a curfew on the historic Old City until Wednesday morning, local sources told the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Residents burned tires and rubbish in protest. Footage showed military convoys moving through the city amid confrontations.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 27 injuries, including 22 cases of suffocation from tear gas and five who were beaten by Israeli soldiers. Reports said Israeli forces blocked paramedics from reaching the Old City to treat some of the wounded.

Tuesday's raid forced government institutions, schools, and businesses to shut close across Nablus, according to a statement by Nablus Governor Ghassan Daghlas.

In the Hebron governorate, Israeli forces also arrested dozens in Al-Dhahiriya, including at least 20 former prisoners, according to Palestinian media.

Israel launched its current assault on the northern West Bank on 21 January, just two days after a Gaza truce took effect. The campaign, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, began with a large-scale raid on Jenin and has since spread to other towns and refugee camps.

Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced, with Israeli forces demolishing homes and infrastructure in what appears to be a strategy to prevent their return and clear the way for illegal settlements expansion.

Calls to storm Al-Aqsa

Meanwhile, far-right Israeli settler groups renewed calls on Tuesday to storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

The site, Islam’s third holiest, has been stormed repeatedly in recent weeks by settlers, often under the protection of Israeli police and sometimes led by extremist far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

While a longstanding agreement permits non-Muslim visits but bans prayer, far-right Israeli activists have increasingly challenged this, with Ben-Gvir making multiple high-profile visits and demanding formal Jewish prayer rights.

Settler incursions have surged since 2023, and intensified further during Israel's war on Gaza. This mounting pressure on Palestinian control of the mosque compound was the reason Hamas cited for launching its 7 October 2023 attack, dubbed 'Al-Aqsa Flood'.