House Democrats are bashing Israeli leaders over the vast expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank, arguing the developments are not only illegal but will also make it impossible to negotiate any long-term peace deal in the Middle East.

With the world’s focus on Gaza, settlers - often abetted by the Israeli army - are violently dispossessing Palestinians of their ancestral lands

The high toll and Israel’s use of a warplane were unusual for the Israeli military’s operations in the West Bank, which have escalated during the war in Gaza.

At least 18 people have been killed in an Israeli air strike in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, the Palestinian health ministry said late on Thursday. The Palestinian Authority-run news agency Wafa said the air strike had hit a cafe in the Tulkarm refugee camp where many civilians had been present.

Israel launched its largest airstrike targeting the West Bank since the start of the war, killing 18 Palestinians, including a local Hamas leader. While the Israel Defense Forces have been locked in conflict in Gaza and Lebanon,

At least 18 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli strike on the Tulkarm refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday, with the Israeli military saying it killed a Hamas commander.