Eight killed in two-day Israeli raid in West Bank city

The Israeli military raided the city of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank for a second day on Thursday, saying it had killed eight people.

The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that six people had died and an organisation which represents those held in Israeli jails - the Palestinian Society Prisoner's Club - said hundreds had been arrested over the two days.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said four had been badly beaten by Israeli forces. Video footage showed many buildings had also been badly damaged or destroyed.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence in parallel to the Gaza war that erupted on 7 Oct with a shock cross-border killing and kidnapping spree by Hamas fighters in southern Israel.

The Israeli military says it has arrested 2,700 suspects in the West Bank since the start of the war, and that around half belonged to Hamas.

Tulkarm, one of the main crossing points between the West Bank and Israel, has seen repeated raids.

The Israeli military said on Thursday it had carried out a more than 35-hour long counter-terrorism operation in Tulkarm, killing eight fighters, arresting 15 suspects, seizing weapons and destroying dozens of explosive devices.

It said in a statement that it had returned fire with armed fighters.

Faisal Salameh, the head of the services committee in Tulkarm, told Reuters that 10 houses had been blown up, others had been damaged by Israeli tanks and infrastructure had been destroyed. Israel said it had discovered bomb-making facilities.

"As you can see, the room is gone, there used to be a bathroom, a yard and a wall here, there used to be trees," said Tulkarm resident Issam Asfour.