Violent clashes overnight have left multiple Palestinians dead in the West Bank, and Israeli police say a Palestinian stabbed and wounded two people at a checkpoint near Jerusalem before being shot Wednesday.
Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. At least 427 Palestinians have been killed there, mostly during confrontations with Israeli forces, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israeli-Palestinian tensions often soar during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began Sunday, over access to a major holy site in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said six aid trucks entered Gaza through the north late Tuesday as international pressure mounts for more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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Some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed during the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on Oct. 7, and around 250 people were abducted. Hamas is believed to still be holding around 100 hostages.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says that over 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people forced from their homes. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says that women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, according to the United Nations. (AP)