Terrorist Israel martyrs 94 Palestinians in past 24 hours as toll rises to 29,878

TUBAS, Palestine (AFP) - Israeli troops martyred three Palestinians in an overnight raid in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday.

It was the latest in a surge of violence in the restive Palestinian territory since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah said the three men were martyred 'by Israeli occupation bullets' during clashes in the Faraa refugee camp near the town of Tubas in the northern West Bank. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the raid.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that at least 29,878 people have been martyred in the Palestinian territory during the war between militants and Israel. The toll includes at least 96 deaths in the past 24 hours, while 70,215 people have been wounded since the conflict began on October 7, a ministry statement said.

Video footage posted on social media showed Israeli military vehicles entering Faraa under the cover of darkness.

"Dozens of young men and armed men from the camp confronted the forces before they called for more reinforcements, including bulldozers that dug the camp's streets and struck the water and sewage networks," said Assem Mansour, head of the camp's popular committee.

One of the three men martyred was a militant, he said, while the other two were civilians "in their homes and were martyred by snipers deployed in the camp". The Israeli military has conducted frequent arrest raids in the West Bank.

Since the war in Gaza began, at least 403 Palestinians have been martyred by Israeli troops or settlers in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Palestinian militants have also carried out numerous attacks against Israeli troops and civilians in Israel and the West Bank, killing at least 15 people, according to Israeli figures.