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.

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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.

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