April 22, 2024 - Israel-Hamas war

Israeli soldiers shot and killed two Palestinians at Beit Einun Junction, near Hebron, in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, in what the military says was an attempted attack on soldiers.

The Israel Defense Forces said that two men arrived at the junction, and one of them “attempted to stab IDF soldiers that were in the area, who responded with live fire and neutralized him.”

Another man then “opened fire at the soldiers, who responded with live fire and neutralized him too,” the military said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank named the two men as 19-year-old Muhammad Jabarin and 18-year-old Musa Jabarin.

A video believed to be of the incident, which CNN cannot independently verify, shows one man ducking behind a large concrete block — often placed by the Israeli military at checkpoints and junctions to create barriers and block roads.

The man does not appear to move from his location and it is not immediately clear in the video if he is holding anything in his hands. After about 30 seconds, gunfire is heard and the man falls to the ground.

There was only one man in the video.

Violence by Israeli settlers and troops in the occupied West Bank has surged during Israel's war in Gaza. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, according to State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Blinken and Gallant discussed efforts to protect Israel’s security, enable hostage negotiations, and increase humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, the readout said.

Blinken also “underscored the importance of measures to de-escalate tensions in the region.”

Israeli troops have ended a two-day operation in the Nur al-Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank, the military told CNN on Sunday.

Images from the offensive on the camp, which appears to be one of the largest in the West Bank since October 7, show concrete slabs and rubble strewn across the area.

At least 14 people, including one child, were killed in the raid, the Palestinian Ministry of Health and official news agency Wafa said Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces said security forces killed 10 "terrorists" and arrested “eight wanted suspects” during its “extensive counterterrorism” operation, which started on Thursday. 

Attacks on Palestinians: Violence in the occupied West Bank has spiked during Israel's war in Gaza.

On Saturday, an ambulance driver from the Palestine Red Crescent Society was killed when his vehicle was hit by gunfire while transporting Palestinians wounded in an attack by settlers in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied territory increased in 2023 to their highest level since the UN began recording data in 2006, Human Rights Watch reported Wednesday.

At least 483 Palestinians have been killed by settlers or Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, according to the health ministry.

The spike in violence by extremist settlers has led to more sanctions by the US and EU.

Israeli strikes hit four sites in southern Lebanon over the weekend, Lebanese state-owned National News Agency reported, as regional tensions intensify over Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

The strikes hit the villages of Khiam, Tayr Harfa, Kfarkella near Odaisseh, and an area between Ramieh and Beit Leif.

The Israeli military confirmed bombardment on three of the four locations, hitting what it said were Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Lebanese militant group with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East.

In Tayr Harfa, Israeli forces said "a terrorist was identified operating inside a Hezbollah military structure" that fighter jets struck. Elsewhere, Israeli troops hit "an observation post" in Odaisseh and "two military structures" in Khiam.

Israel-Lebanon relations: Israeli and Hezbollah forces have engaged in cross-border fire and tit-for-tat exchanges since October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israel.

Hezbollah’s political stance has unambiguously supported the Palestinian militants. It has roundly condemned Israel’s relentless airstrikes on Gaza.

CNN's Tamara Qiblawi and Abeer Salman contributed reporting.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Israel would soon land "additional and painful blows" and increase "military and political pressure" on Hamas to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to a video statement released by the government.

His vow comes despite pressure from the United States and other countries to limit civilian casualties and increase aid to Gaza.

Talks on a ceasefire and hostage deal facilitated by international mediators for weeks have yielded no apparent breakthroughs of late. Hamas had rejected proposals for a hostage deal "outright," Netanyahu said.

War cabinet meets: Also on Sunday, the Israeli war cabinet met to discuss efforts to free the remaining hostages held in Gaza, according to an Israeli official. The war cabinet is made up of Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Benny Gantz, chairman of the National Unity Party.