Israel kills 2 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, officials say

Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israel’s decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas on Monday, January 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

“Israel killed two Palestinians in the northern West Bank overnight and into Wednesday (January 29, 2025),” the occupied territory’s Heath Ministry said, as the Israeli military focuses on a major crackdown there during the ceasefire in Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from the Israel’s military. The Palestinian Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its reports. The West Bank has seen a surge in violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there.

In Gaza, a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is aimed at ending the war and securing the release of dozens of hostages held by the militant group, as well as hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned or detained by Israel.

An Israeli official said Wednesday (January 29, 2025) that Hamas will release three Israelis, including two women and an 80-year-old man, and five Thai nationals in the next hostage release slated for the following day.

In recent days, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have jubilantly returned to northern Gaza, although their homecoming has been bittersweet as nearly everyone has friends or relatives who died, and many northern neighbourhoods have been transformed into an apocalyptic landscape of devastation by more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas.