Children suffered breathing difficulties on Saturday after Israeli forces launched tear gas during raids across the occupied West Bank, local Palestinian reports said.
Voice of Palestine radio reported that troops fired tear gas toward an olive press and a vehicle in the town of Aqraba, southeast of Nablus. The gas left several children struggling to breathe.
In a separate operation, Israeli soldiers detained two young men during a house raid in al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah. Activist footage showed soldiers on the ground, and other images captured troops forcing a young man to remove a Palestinian flag from a memorial at the village entrance.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA stated that Israeli forces also conducted raids in Nabi Saleh and Deir Abu Mashal, northwest of Ramallah. Troops fired stun grenades during these incursions, though no injuries or arrests were reported there.
Near occupied East Jerusalem, forces targeted vehicles with tear gas and stun grenades at a roundabout in the town of al-Ram, according to the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate. The governorate said the operations coincided with the closure of the Jaba military checkpoint, creating heavy traffic congestion.
Further north, clashes erupted between residents and Israeli troops during a raid on the village of Madama, south of Nablus, Voice of Palestine reported.
Violence across the West Bank has escalated since the war in the Gaza Strip began in October 2023. Human rights monitors have documented frequent killings, arbitrary arrests, home demolitions, property burnings, land bulldozing, and the displacement of Palestinian communities by the military and settlers.
