Israeli forces detain over 20 Palestinians in occupied West Bank raids as Israel pounds Gaza

Scores of Palestinians were detained by occupying Israeli forces during raids in the West Bank on Friday evening and Saturday morning as Israel launched a bombing campaign on the besieged Gaza Strip, a prisoner advocacy group said.

At least 22 Palestinians were arrested in raids across the occupied West Bank, most of them former prisoners, including a journalist and members of the Islamic Jihad militant group, said the Palestinian Prisoner Society.

Six people from the village of Beit Sira, west of Ramallah were detained, including journalist Ibrahim Abu Safieh.

Four others were taken from Hebron, along with several detentions in Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm in the north of the West Bank, and Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem, the prisoner group added.

The occupied West Bank had been bracing itself for arrests as Israel upped its aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip with the stated aim of targeting the Islamic Jihad group, PPS told The New Arab's Arabic-language service sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

"The arrests were expected in light of the Israeli escalation, as the majority of the detainees are affiliated with the Islamic Jihad movement," PPS press official Amani Al-Sarahna said.

The Islamic Jihad group, which is based in the besieged Gaza Strip, also said some of those arrested were members of their branch in the occupied West Bank.

"The arrests carried out by the Zionist occupation forces against the leaders and cadres of the Islamic Jihad movement in the West Bank is a continuation of this aggression against our people everywhere," said Tariq Ezz El-Din, spokesperson for the group in the occupied West Bank.

Ezz El-Din called on Palestinians to take to the streets to protest Israel's bombing of Gaza on Friday and Saturday.

Health authorities in Gaza said 10 people have been killed by Israel's bombardment, including a five-year-old girl, with 75 others injured.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said Israel was forced to launch a "pre-emptive counter-terror operation against an immediate threat" posed by the Islamic Jihad group, following days of tensions along the Gaza border.

Israel and Islamic Jihad have both confirmed the killing of a top commander with the militant group, Taysir al-Jabari, in a Friday strike.

Islamic Jihad said the initial Israeli bombardment amounted to a "declaration of war", before it unleashed a flurry of more than 100 rockets towards Israel.