Israeli forces raided a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, killing at least seven Palestinians, including a doctor, local authorities said, in some of the deadliest violence in the region since the war began in October. The military said it struck militants during an operation in Jenin, a city in northern West Bank, which along with an adjacent refugee camp has long been a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said seven Palestinians were killed and nine wounded. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group said it battled Israeli forces. Wissam Abu Baker, director of Jenin Governmental Hospital, said surgery specialist Ossayed Kamal Jabareen was among the dead. “He was killed on his way to work.”