JERUSALEM, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israeli forces arrested 14 Palestinians during an overnight operation in the West Bank city of Hebron, the military said Friday.

Mourners attend a funeral of three Palestinian journalists, who were killed by an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday, in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, on Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said troops, working with the Shin Bet security agency and Israeli police, carried out searches in Hebron's Jabal Johar neighborhood. The military said about 350 structures were searched, and eight firearms, including M4 and M16 rifles and handguns, were seized, along with knives and other weapons.

Those detained were suspected of involvement in militant activity and illegal weapons possession, it said.

Palestine's official news agency WAFA reported separately that Israeli forces, accompanied by armed settlers, detained two Palestinian youths south of Hebron on Thursday.

The report said the youths were stopped near the entrance to the village of Wadi al-Shajna, forced to remove their clothes, and physically abused.

Israeli forces have stepped up near-daily raids across the West Bank since October 2023, describing them as counterterrorism operations.

Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War. Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal under international law.