DUBAI, December 27. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is conducting raids in cities and villages of the West Bank, the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, the Israeli military surrounded and stormed several villages, cities and towns in the regions of Tulkarem, Nablus, Hebron and Qalqilya.

The TV channel also reported that IDF servicemen have been engaged in military operations in Tulkarem and the nearby Nur Shams refugee camp for the third time in the past three days. On Tuesday, over 100 military vehicles and bulldozers blocked all exists from the camp and closed nearby roads.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip and took hostages. Hamas described its operation as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and carried out air strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as some areas of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also underway in the West Bank.