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Tal clash triggers operation
Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed near the Palestinian village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, after a confrontation that Israel said began when it received reports that Israeli civilians who were hiking in the area had been attacked.
“Four Palestinians were martyred and two Israeli soldiers were killed, one of them holding the rank of captain, today, Friday, near the town of Tel, southwest of the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, after residents of the town confronted an incursion carried out by settlers that included gunfire”
The Israeli military said a Palestinian man took a weapon from Israeli security personnel from the nearby settlement of Havat Gilad and opened fire, wounding several Israelis before being killed.
Israel’s military said it was preparing for "extensive counterterrorism operational activity in the sector" and canceled leave, while roadblocks were set up around Tal and Nablus.
BBC reporting said the deadliest single incident in months involved conflicting accounts, with Palestinians telling the BBC that residents confronted Jewish settlers attacking them and that soldiers then arrived and started shooting.
In the same incident, the IDF later said it apprehended two men in a hospital in Nablus where they had been taken after being injured while carrying out the attack, and transferred them to security forces for further processing.
Competing narratives and quotes
Ahmed Zeidan, an eyewitness, told the BBC the incident began early in the morning when locals in Tal rushed to confront about 30 settlers attacking Palestinian homes, and he said hand-to-hand clashes broke out in the presence of Israeli soldiers.
The BBC also reported that a local leader of the ruling Palestinian Authority’s Fatah party, Essam Saifi, told Reuters that settlers opened fire before Israeli forces arrived and also started shooting.
In a statement carried by the BBC, the Palestinian foreign ministry said it "condemns in the strongest terms the massacre" in Tal, adding that the escalation of settler terrorism was a direct consequence of protection and impunity granted by the Israeli government and occupation forces.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to act "with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them," and the BBC said Netanyahu called an emergency meeting with security officials and sent reinforcements to the area.
Sky News described a video confirmed by the Israeli military showing two armed men in civilian clothing and at least one Israeli soldier pointing weapons at Palestinians in a field, with residents trying to push the men back and appear to disarm one before opening fire.
Retaliation, raids, and risks
After the shooting near Tal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz called for more troops in the West Bank and the razing of the homes of the accused in Tell, as well as collecting weapons and revoking work permits in the village.
“Occupied West Bank: Doctors Without Borders says it is 'deeply alarmed' by Israeli violence - The NGO says that the events that occurred in Nablus fit into a 'broader pattern' of Israeli raids and violence carried out by state-backed occupiers Burak Bir July 24, 2026 • Updated: July 24, 2026 Greater London AA / London Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Friday it was 'deeply concerned' by reports of Israeli forces entering a hospital in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank, amid clashes that have left four Palestinians dead”
The BBC reported that Netanyahu and Katz said the home of the Palestinian shooter in Tal would be demolished and that the legalisation of unauthorised settler outposts and the establishment of new ones would be speeded up.
Human rights group B’Tselem warned the violence could spin out of control as Israeli settlers and soldiers amassed near multiple Palestinian cities, with Yuli Novak saying, "Israeli violence is spreading across the West Bank, fueled by Israeli politicians openly calling for revenge."
Doctors Without Borders said it was "deeply concerned" by reports of Israeli forces entering the Nablus specialized hospital amid clashes that have left four Palestinians dead, and MSF’s head of mission in Palestine, Filipe Ribiero, said the events fit into a broader pattern of raids and disruption of essential services.
The Guardian reported that Israel said it planned to apprehend "dozens of Palestinians" involved in the incident and treated it as a terrorist attack, while also describing the shooting as the deadliest attack in the West Bank this year and reporting that settlers set fire to houses during reprisals.
