Israeli forces launched sweeping detention raids across the occupied West Bank in the early hours of Thursday, storming refugee camps, villages and city neighbourhoods. Dozens of Palestinians were taken, among them children and former prisoners, as heavily armed troops broke into homes, searched properties and left families in shock.

In Nablus, soldiers raided Al-Ein Camp, Tunis Street and University Street, arresting several residents. In Qalqilya, a series of raids saw the detention of former prisoner Alaa Shtaywi and multiple young men, including a teenager and a child, while more arrests followed in the nearby town of Azzoun. Similar operations struck Hebron, Bethlehem, Salfit and Tulkarm, where families woke to find their relatives dragged away in the darkness.

The wave of arrests forms part of an intensifying campaign of incursions that has gripped the West Bank since October 2023. Almost nightly, troops storm neighbourhoods, targeting homes and detaining residents, often without charge. For families across the territory, the fear is constant: each knock at the door could mean the loss of a son, a brother, or even a child.