Israeli airstrike kills 5 Palestinians in West Bank, 2 IDF soldiers die in helicopter crash

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Israel Defense Forces conducted a West Bank airstrike around dawn Wednesday that killed five Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said a drone was used by Israel to target a group of five young men around dawn Wednesday in the city of Tubas

The IDF said confirmed the operation in a statement on X .

"Extensive forces of the IDF, and the Shin Bet began operating during the night in the Tubas and Tammon area in the Bekaa and Emekim Division against terrorist infrastructures, as part of the operation in northern Samaria. As part of the activity, a short time ago an aircraft attacked an armed terrorist squad in the Tubas region."

Samaria is a biblical term used by Israel to refer to the northern area of the West Bank.

WAFA, the Palestinian news agency, said large-scale raids were being carried out by Israeli forces on the outskirts of Tubas and in several neighborhoods.

In a statement the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams transferred five bodies from Tawheed Mosque in Tubas to the hospital.

In the nearby town of Tulkarm the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said it "condemns the Israeli occupation's attacks on its crews today in Tulkarm, where the occupation forces targeted one of the society's paramedics with live bullets while he was treating an injured person in Tulkarm camp."

Meanwhile, on X Wednesday morning the IDF said two IDF soldiers were killed in a Helicopter crash.

"Overnight, an Israeli Air Force 'Yanshuf' helicopter, which was on a mission to evacuate an injured soldier to a hospital for medical treatment, crashed while landing in the Rafah area in Gaza ," it said.

The IDF statement said an initial inquiry indicates the crash was not caused by enemy fire, but it is still under investigation.

During a nine-day operation in the West Bank Tubas, Tulkarm and Jenin areas, at least 36 Palestinians were killed, according ot the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The ministry said children were among those killed.