Closed-circuit television footage shows Israeli military vehicles travelling along a road as they operate in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 28 August 2024 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video; Credit: Social Media/via Reuters

CAIRO (Reuters) - Israeli strikes in the West Bank killed at least nine people, Palestinian health authorities said on Wednesday 28 August 2024, in a major operation in the occupied territory.

Clashes with the Israeli military in the West Bank have risen sharply since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, as Israel steps up operations against armed militant groups, including Iranian-backed Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The latest military operation occurred in Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm in the West Bank.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it killed "five terrorists in an operations room" in Nur Shams camp in Tulkarm.

Reuters was able to verify CCTV footage that showed military vehicles moving down a street in Jenin on Wednesday.

Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in military raids, and at least 637 have been killed, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures. Many of them are armed fighters but others are stone-throwing youths or uninvolved civilians.

At least 30 Israelis - civilians and soldiers - have been killed by Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank in the same period, official Israeli figures showed.