TUBAS, Palestine / ISTANBUL

The Israeli army carried out a new raid early Monday in the city of Tubas and the nearby town of Aqaba in the northern occupied West Bank, barely a day after pulling out of the area following a four-day military operation.

According to an Anadolu correspondent, large Israeli forces spread throughout the city and the town, announcing a curfew until further notice.

Military bulldozers moved in to block roads and sever links between different parts of the governorate.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli troops stormed multiple Palestinian homes, turning some of them into temporary military positions.

“The operation comes just days after an assault that left widespread destruction to public and private property, along with hundreds of injuries and arrests in recent days,” the Tubas Governorate said in a statement.

In a separate announcement, the Tubas Directorate of Education said all schools and kindergartens would shift to remote learning due to the “Israeli army’s imposition of a curfew starting at 4 am today and continuing until further notice.”

The directorate added that a date for resuming in-person classes will be determined based on developments on the ground.

Last Wednesday, the Israeli army launched a four-day military operation in the Tubas governorate that included the city, several surrounding villages, and al-Fara’a refugee camp.

The army is also currently carrying out another operation in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the northern West Bank, where it has imposed a curfew, turned several homes into military outposts, and detained several Palestinians, according to witnesses.

The Israeli army has escalated its attacks in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

More than 1,085 Palestinians have since been killed, and 10,700 others injured in attacks by the army and illegal Israeli settlers in the occupied territory. More than 20,500 people have also been arrested.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.