Eight Palestinians were shot, four fatally near the West Bank village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, Palestine, in a confrontation Friday, July 24, that has escalated into a broader Israeli military crackdown. Two Israeli soldiers were also killed.

Israeli settler violence against Palestinians has intensified sharply over recent weeks. Palestinian sources said the violence began when Israeli settlers attacked Tal, near the settlement of Havat Gilad, with witnesses saying settlers opened fire as residents tried to protect their homes.

Israel's military said Israeli civilians hiking in the area had been attacked, and that a Palestinian man seized a weapon from security personnel and opened fire, wounding several Israelis before being killed. It identified one soldier killed as 32-year-old Benayahu Mellet.

A total of five Palestinian villages around Nablus were attacked by Israeli settlers that day, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a "wide-scale military operation" in West Bank villages following the shooting. Israeli forces arrested nearly 50 Palestinians in Tal the next morning, raiding roughly 70 homes. Residents said funerals for the four Palestinians had to be held overnight, with only a limited number allowed to attend.

The Palestinian health ministry says the killings bring the toll to 87 Palestinians killed by Israelis in the West Bank since the start of the year, including 21 shot by settlers.

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