Israel kills militants in the West Bank as region waits on ceasefire talks

Two Israeli airstrikes in the West Bank killed nine Palestinian militants on Saturday, Israel’s army has said.

The airstrikes come as violence flared again in the Israeli-occupied territory with tensions high over the war in Gaza and a potential regional escalation.

Ceasefire discussions on Gaza continued, with an Israel delegation led by the Mossad chief briefly visiting Cairo, an Egyptian official said.

The US has urged Israel to seize the chance for a ceasefire after the shock killing of Hamas’ political leader in Iran, which Tehran blames on Israel.

That killing and Israel’s assassination of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon have the region holding its breath for retaliation against Israel on either front, or both, after Iran and its proxies vowed to act.

Hamas said its command had begun discussions on choosing a new leader.

In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army said its forces first struck a vehicle in a rural area outside the city of Tulkarem early on Saturday, killing the five occupants.

The army said they were on their way to carry out an attack. Hamas identified all five as militants with the group, including a local commander.

According to an Associated Press journalist and witnesses, the blast took place along a road connecting the Palestinian villages of Zeita and Qaffin.

“We came to the site and found a young man martyred here on the street and half of his face was missing,” said Taiser Abdullah, a Zeita resident.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said four bodies were “burned and charred beyond recognition”.

Later on Saturday, Israel’s military said it killed four other Palestinian militants in the Tulkarem area shortly after they opened fire on Israeli troops.

No further information was immediately available.

Over 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza in October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Most have been killed during Israeli raids and violent protests. Tulkarem is regularly raided by Israeli forces, and Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are active there.

A strike in central Gaza early on Sunday hit a tent area in the courtyard of Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital, killing four people, including a woman, and injuring others, health officials said.

An Associated Press journalist filmed men rushing to the scene to help the injured and retrieve bodies while trying to extinguish the fire.

The hospital in Deir al Balah is the main medical facility operating in central Gaza, and thousands of people have taken shelter there after fleeing their homes in the war-ravaged territory.

Concerns about a full-fledged regional war are high after the assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran early on Wednesday and top Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut the evening before.

Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, vowed to retaliate against Israel, which said it killed Mr Shukur but has not confirmed or denied its role in Mr Haniyeh’s death.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range projectile was behind the killing and accused the United States of supporting the attack.