Milan, 26 August (LaPresse/AP) – A column of Israeli military vehicles entered the centre of Ramallah in the afternoon in a rare daytime raid on one of the largest Palestinian cities in the West Bank. The Israeli army confirmed that an operation was underway in the city but did not provide any information on the purpose of the raid. The Palestinian Red Crescent said 58 people were injured during the raid, including injuries from live ammunition, rubber bullets, tear gas inhalation and “live bullet shrapnel”. Israeli armoured vehicles entered a busy intersection in the city centre, blocking traffic. Several dozen people tried to throw stones at the military vehicles. Ramallah is the seat of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), which cooperates with Israel on security matters and has been largely sidelined since the start of the war in Gaza. The city has suffered similar raids in the past, including one in May, when Israeli forces targeted money transfer companies there and in other Palestinian cities, claiming they had links to militant groups. The war in Gaza has sparked a wave of violence in the West Bank. The Israeli army has conducted large-scale operations against militants, killing hundreds of Palestinians and displacing tens of thousands. This has coincided with an increase in settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there were more than a thousand attacks by Israeli settlers in 2025, with 11 Palestinians killed and around 700 injured.
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