RAMALLAH: The death toll from a raid by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank rose to 13, Palestinian health officials said Friday, as casualties mounted in the territory while war rages in Gaza.

At least 81 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops or settlers in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza conflict erupted on October 7, according to figures from the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

One member of the Israeli security forces has also been killed in the territory.

“The Israeli occupation army committed a massacre from Nur Shams camp in Tulkarem during its attack yesterday, with the death toll reaching 13 martyrs, among them five children,” the ministry said in a statement.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said it carried out an air strike which killed “a number of terrorists” in Nur Shams.

“Exchanges of fire with armed gunmen, which included explosive devices being thrown at Israeli security forces, took place,” an army statement said.

In separate clashes earlier Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a 17-year-old in Dheisheh refugee camp, near Bethlehem, and a 32-year-old in Budrus to the west of Ramallah.

Nine Palestinians killed in West Bank as toll mounts

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967 and its forces regularly carry out incursions into Palestinian towns and cities.

The military has mounted a sweeping arrest campaign since October 7, detaining hundreds of people including members of Hamas group.

Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have held rallies in solidarity with Gaza’s 2.4 million people.

On October 7, Hamas group stormed into Israel from Gaza and killed at least 1,400 people, most of them civilians, who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death, according to Israeli officials.

In Gaza, more than 3,700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardments in retaliation for the attacks, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the coastal enclave.