Israel has launched major raids against a series of cities in the West Bank for the first time since the second intifada.

At least nine people have been killed by the IDF, Palestinian authorities claimed.

According to the news agency Wafa, Mahmoud Abbas has cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia to return to Ramallah. 

The IDF operation, which is reportedly named Operation Summer Camps, comes in response to Israeli concern about a growing threat to their security from the occupied territories amid the war against Hamas and clashes with Hezbollah in the north.

In a briefing, the IDF’s Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said: "This terror threat in this area is not new, it hasn't started yesterday and it's not going to end tomorrow.”

At least four Palestinian cities – Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and Tubas – were targeted by Israeli forces at the same time and it is believed to be the first time that has happened for 20 years.

In a statement, the IDF claimed they, the Shin Bet, and Israel Border Police had killed three armed terrorists in Jenin with an airstrike.

"Furthermore, in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarm, the forces eliminated two additional armed terrorists, apprehended wanted suspects, and located and confiscated weapons including M-16s, ammunition and additional military equipment,” they said.

“Additionally, the forces exposed and dismantled explosives that were planted under the roads in the area and were intended to be detonated in attacks against the security forces operating in the area.”

Simultaneously, they said, Israeli forces launched “an aerial counterterrorism operation” in the area of Far'a, a refugee camp, in which an aircraft struck and eliminated four armed terrorists that posed a threat to the forces.

The IDF claimed: "The forces confiscated weapons and exposed and dismantled explosives that were planted under the roads in the area.”

Masoud Naaja, the father of two young men killed in a strike in Tubas, located in the northern West Bank, told Reuters he had been wounded in the attack.

"In seconds, very fast, we felt like something came down on us from the sky and there was an explosion," he said. "When I put my hand on my chest, it was full of shrapnel and blood."

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, a Palestinian was shot by the IDF in Jenin.

Israeli forces have reportedly enforced a curfew in the east of the city and prevented residents from leaving their homes as raids continue, Al Jazeera reported.

In the Nur Shams refugee camp, Palestinians have reportedly been told they have three hours to leave if they wish to evacuate.

Wafa, a Palestinian news service, said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was to return to respond to the operation.

“Abbas cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia and returned to his homeland on Wednesday to follow up on the latest developments in light of the Israeli aggression on the northern West Bank,” they said.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been, "operating with full force since last night in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps to dismantle Iranian-Islamic terror infrastructures established there.”

He claimed that the Islamic regime was attempting to open a new front against Israel in the West Bank.

"We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required," Katz added.