Portugal Colonial - Israel forces kill 15 Palestinians in West Bank clashes: ministry

They saw black smoke rising over Jenin, a militant stronghold in the northern West Bank, and heard multiple explosions and gunfire.

The health ministry said in a statement 11 Palestinians were killed during clashes with the Israeli army in Jenin, with more than 20 others wounded.

The Israeli army said its forces were operating in the city, but did not provide further details. AFP journalists saw Israeli troops in Jenin in the afternoon.

Separately, four Palestinians were killed in violence elsewhere in the West Bank, the health ministry said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the deaths reported by the ministry in Balata refugee camp near Nablus, Al-Amari refugee camp near Ramallah and Beit Fajar and Dura in the southern West Bank.

Israeli forces in Jenin have killed dozens of Palestinians in recent months, particularly in the city's refugee camp where armed groups are present alongside tens of thousands of residents.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and its troops regularly launch raids across the Palestinian territory.

Since war erupted on October 7 between Israel and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have arrested more than 2,000 people across the West Bank and annexed east Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club advocacy group.

At least 170 Palestinians and three Israelis have been killed across the West Bank since October 7, according to officials on both sides.

The Gaza war began with attacks on October 7 by Gaza-based Hamas militants, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.

Vowing to crush Hamas in response, Israel launched intense air strikes and a ground invasion of Gaza, killing more than 10,800 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

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C.Amaral--PC