Israeli army has detained 4,000 Palestinians in West Bank since Oct. 7: NGOs

RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army has detained more than 4,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since Oct. 7, Palestinian human rights groups said on Wednesday.

In a joint statement, the rights groups, including the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Prisoner Society and the Jerusalem-based Wadi Hilweh Information Center, said among the detained Palestinians were 150 women and more than 255 children.

The statement noted that the number doesn't include those arrested in the Gaza Strip during the same period.

It also said that currently there are more than 7,800 Palestinians in Israeli jails, including 2,870 people with no trial or charge under the Israeli administrative detention policy.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank amid an Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

Nearly 282 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since Oct. 7, in addition to more than 3,100 others injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara