TEL AVIV, September 1. /TASS/. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (Shabak) have conducted over 11,000 offensive operations in the West Bank since last October, eliminating over 600 radicals, the Jerusalem Post said.

According to the newspaper, about 5,000 people were arrested during these raids, including approximately 2,000 identified as Hamas members. During this time, the Israeli air force delivered about 70 strikes on the West Bank, killing about 100 militants.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria, followed by a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.