ISTANBUL

Israeli forces arrested seven Palestinians and assaulted an elderly man on Sunday during military raids in the occupied West Bank, a media office said.

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office said four Palestinians were taken into custody after Israeli forces raided and searched their homes in the town of Tuqu’, southeast of Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.

Two young boys were also arrested and an elderly man was assaulted by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, it added.

Local sources told Anadolu that Israeli forces also detained a young man after raiding and searching his family home in the village of Deir Nizam, northwest of Ramallah in the central West Bank.

The Israeli army conducts near-daily raids into cities and towns across the West Bank, which Israel says are part of “security campaigns” targeting individuals it considers “wanted.”

According to Palestinian figures, more than 9,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 79 women and 350 children, where they face torture, starvation, and medical neglect that has led to the deaths of several detainees.

Since the start of the war on Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers in the West Bank have killed 1,133 Palestinians, injured around 11,700 others, and led to the arrest of approximately 22,000 people.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, 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.

*Writing by Khaled Badr