Israeli forces have killed six Palestinians during a raid in the village of Kafr Dan near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported, amidst an escalation of Israeli assaults on the territory due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

An Israeli special forces unit entered the village on Tuesday, besieged a home, and then shelled it, as per the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

The six men who lost their lives were between the ages of 21 and 32, the Health Ministry stated. One of the victims, Ahmad Smoudi, was identified as the brother of a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead by Israeli forces in Jenin in 2022.

The Jenin battalion of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed faction of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, had earlier announced on Tuesday that it was engaged in “fierce” combat with Israeli troops in Kafr Dan.

The Israeli military described the operation as a “counterterrorism” mission in the village, during which four armed Palestinians were killed. The army mentioned it used attack helicopters in the raid and reported no casualties on their side.

On Monday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians west of Ramallah and three others in Jenin on the previous Friday.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has been frequently carrying out lethal raids in the West Bank, a trend that has intensified with the onset of the war in Gaza.

According to Palestinian health officials, since the violence in Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has killed 544 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 133 children. Additionally, thousands of Palestinians have been detained during this period.

Residents in the West Bank have also suffered violent attacks from Israeli settlers, who have been assaulting farmers and raiding Palestinian towns in recent months, often with the protection of the Israeli military.

Rawhi Fattouh of the Palestinian National Council stated that the Israeli raids in the West Bank are part of ongoing "massacres, ethnic cleansing, and genocide targeting the Palestinian people in Gaza."

He asserted that the current Israeli government is attempting to ignite a religious and ideological conflict that could engulf the region in violence and massacres, urging the international community to step in and halt this escalation.