Hamas urges youth wing to continue actions against Israel

Follow our liveblog on the Middle East conflict

A leader of the Islamist group Hamas on Monday called on Palestinian students in the West Bank to increase their activism against Israel, after Israeli forces stormed Birzeit University in Ramallah.

According to Palestinian sources, five people were injured after the Israeli army entered Ramallah University, which conducted another operation at the Faculty of Fine Arts, a theater and Hebron University.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces detained a professor at Hebron University and an academic who headed a science department.

For Abdel Rahman Shadid, it was a “desperate attempt to contain the resistance in the West Bank, led by revolutionary youth.”

The Hamas leader, considered a terrorist by the European Union and the United States, also said that Israel's "threat against the Islamic Bloc organization (the student wing of Hamas) and attempts to 'discourage' students from participating in activities reflect failure in the face of what he said was growing student awareness and popular outrage over the war in the Gaza Strip.

This Monday morning, eleven Israeli army vehicles entered the campus of Birzeit University in Ramallah, leaving five security guards injured and causing material damage , including gates and destruction of artwork dedicated to Gaza.

During the attack, Israeli forces posted leaflets in Arabic warning students that they “may pay a heavy price” if they participate in activities of the student wing of Hamas.

Another site attacked by the Israeli military was the Faculty of Fine Arts, as well as the Naseeb Azziz Shaheen Theater in Ramallah. Israeli forces destroyed murals condemning the universities destroyed in Gaza by Israeli attacks. The campus considered the Israeli attack "an aggressive message" against culture, creativity, and humanity. Despite the Israeli military operation, the campus remained closed, with classes and exams scheduled for this Monday.

The occupied West Bank is facing an unprecedented wave of violence since the Second Intifada (2000-2005).

In 2024, at least 491 Palestinians were killed in the territory by Israeli fire, most of them militants in refugee camps, but also civilians, including at least 75 minors.

In 2025, more than 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks , including 25 minors, according to a tally by the Spanish news agency EFE.