Israeli Fire Kills 9 In West Bank As Palestinians Rally For Gaza

At least nine Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli fire across the occupied West Bank during rallies in solidarity with war-battered Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said.

AFP correspondents and a security official reported clashes in Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarm, Hebron and other cities and towns across the West Bank, nearly a week after a massive Hamas attack on Israel's south spiralled into an all-out war.

More than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel since Hamas group from the blockaded Gaza Strip launched the onslaught early Saturday. In Gaza, over 1,500 people have died in Israeli reprisal strikes over the same period.

At least 44 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in violence related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since Saturday, according to the health ministry.

By Friday afternoon, the ministry reported "nine martyrs by occupation (Israeli) bullets in the West Bank" and some 130 wounded across multiple locations, some critically.

At least three of the deaths were in Tulkarm.

In Beit Furik, near Nablus, a 14-year-old boy was killed, medical sources told AFP.

Deaths were also recorded in Beit Ula, Tammun, Bethelem and Hebron, the health ministry said in separate statements.

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