More than 200 Palestinians killed so far in 2023 amid mass Israeli assaults

More than 200 Palestinians have been killed since so-far this year as a result Israeli attacks and Palestinian counter-operations, latest statistics have shown, with 2023 set to be the bloodiest year in the West Bank in decades.

The Palestinian Information Center (PIC) in a report earlier this week said 206 Palestinians have "died or been killed" following a ramp-up in Israeli assaults in the occupied West Bank and attacks on Gaza this year.

It added that some of these were killed as Palestinian fighters prepared for attacks against Israeli targets but did not explain the cause of death.

The highest number of casualties were in Jenin where 64 Palestinians have died, with 46 in Nablus, and 37 in the Gaza Strip.

This week, Jenin saw 12 Palestinians killed in a ground and aerial assault by Israeli forces.

Jenin and Nablus have become flashpoint cities seeing some of the bloodiest Israeli incursions in decades, while Gaza was pounded with Israeli airstrikes and artillery in May as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group fired rockets from the besieged coastal territory.

The PIC added that Ramallah and Hebron in the West Bank saw 11 and 10 Palestinians deaths respectively, while eight Palestinians were killed this year in occupied East Jerusalem.

In the West Bank towns of Tulkarm there have been six deaths, four in Qalqilya and Bethlehem, two in Tubas and Salfit, while three Palestinians were killed in 1948 territories, in reference to Israeli territory.

Is Israel's military operation in Jenin is sign of what's to come?#JeninUnderAttack https://t.co/xLJ9AtNKmU

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) July 8, 2023

This year will be the deadliest for Palestinians in at least 15 years, when the UN began recording figures. Israel has been slammed by countries and human rights groups for its disproportionate use of force against Palestinians, despite claims of "self-defence".

Its massive raid in Jenin this month left millions of dollars’ worth of damage, with Israeli air strikes for the first time in at least two decades on the West Bank town.

Israel also demolishes homes of Palestinians it accuses of carrying out attacks. Rights groups have also slammed this as an act of collective punishment against the families.

As well as the violence and demolitions, Israel’s hardline government - which includes several ultranationalist extremists - has vowed to continue settlement expansion in occupied territories despite their illegality.

Western nations, including Israel’s strongest ally, the US, have apparently pressured Israel to stop constructing settlement units, but these calls have fallen on deaf ears.