10 dead, over 100 Palestinians wounded by Israeli forces
Israeli army says it entered Nablus to arrest wanted militants who were planning ‘imminent’ shooting attacks. Israel is bracing for revenge attacks.

Palestinians clash with Israeli forces amid a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, on February 22, 2023. Photo by Getty Images
This article originally appeared on Haaretz, and was reprinted here with permission. Sign up here to get Haaretz’s free Daily Brief newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Israeli forces entered Nablus’ old city in an attempt to arrest two wanted Palestinians, killing ten Palestinians and wounding 102 others in the intense confrontations with residents that ensued.
A senior Israeli military official said that the security establishment is preparing for retaliatory attacks, and that it is possible that the number of Palestinian deaths will lead to an escalation with militants in the Gaza Strip.
Military and eyewitnesses reported that Israeli forces surrounded a building in which two wanted Palestinians, Hussam Bassam Isleem and Mohammed Abu Baker, were hiding out. According to reports, the forces demolished the building while the two were inside; their bodies were later identified by IDF forces. Israeli military sources claim Isleem and Abu Baker, affiliated with the nascent Lion’s Den militant group, had reportedly been involved in numerous attacks in the past against Israeli settlements and in the death of an IDF soldier last October.
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that ten people were killed and 102 others were wounded – including six seriously – as a result of gunfire. Al Jazeera also reported that three of the wounded are journalists.
72-year-old Adnan Saabe Baara, 61-year-old Abdul Hadi Abdul Aziz Ashqar, 16-year-old Mohammad Farid Shaaban, 25-year-old Mohammad Khaled Anbousi and 33-year-old Tamer Nimr Minawi were also identified among the dead. The Red Cross reported that dozens suffered from tear gas inhalation and were treated at the scene.
In a recording by Isleem that was shared on social media, he is heard saying: “We’re in trouble, but we won’t surrender ourselves. We won’t hand over our weapons. I’ll die as a shahid (Arabic for martyr). Keep carrying weapons after us.”
Responding to the news of the raid, the spokesman for Hamas’ military wing (also known as the Al-Qassam Brigades) Abu Obeida said “the resistance forces in the Gaza Strip are monitoring the crimes of the enemy and their patience is running out.” Senior Israeli military sources are now concerned that the extraordinary number of casualties could lead to a response from militant groups in the Strip.
Islamic Jihad later released a statement on the incident, saying that “the blood of the martyrs in Nablus has not been spilled in vain” and promising retaliation will come “at any moment and from everywhere.”
Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh called the clashes in Nablus “another massacre carried out by the occupation,” and called on the international community to “intervene immediately and stop the massacre.” He stressed that the U.S. administration must pressure Israel so that it “stops its aggressive and destructive acts.”
Major General (ret.) Tamir Hayman, managing director of the Institute for National Security Studies and the former head of Israel’s military intelligence, took to Twitter following Wednesday’s events in Nablus, saying that “Ramadan is getting closer and the pressure in East Jerusalem is getting higher… This is very reminiscent of the days prior to the 2021 Israel-Palestine crisis.”
Last week, a 14-year-Palestinian boy was killed and two other Palestinians were seriously wounded by live fire from Israeli forces that entered the West Bank city of Jenin, as reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry.
In the same raid, Israeli forces also arrested Jibril Zubeidi – the brother of Palestinian resistance icon Zakaria Zubeidi, who managed to escape from the high-security Gilboa prison alongside five other Palestinian inmates in 2021.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a Jewish society at Yale exposed deep rifts between US Jews
-
Fast Forward On his first trip to Auschwitz, New Jersey governor urges vigilance against rising antisemitism
-
Fast Forward Survivors of the Holocaust and Oct. 7 embrace at Auschwitz, marking annual March of the Living
-
Fast Forward Could changes at the FDA call the kosher status of milk into question? Many are asking.
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.