The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday launched a rare daytime raid in the West Bank city of Ramallah targeting a local currency exchange office linked to Hamas.

According to the military, soldiers from the Binyamin Regional Brigade, along with Duvdevan commando unit fighters and Border Police forces, stormed a currency exchange office accused of transferring funds to Hamas operatives to finance terror activity. The operation was carried out with intelligence guidance from Central Command and the Shin Bet.

During the raid, five suspects allegedly involved in terror activity were arrested, and hundreds of thousands of shekels identified as terror funds were confiscated, the IDF says.

The Red Crescent said at least 14 people were wounded in the incursion. Seven were hit by live rounds, while the rest were injured by rubber bullets or tear gas inhalation.

It said that Israeli forces were “preventing our teams from reaching the injured in a besieged area.”

Asked for a response to the claim of injuries, the IDF said that it opened fire on Palestinians throwing stones at troops during the operation and confirmed some were hit, but did not provide a toll.

One clip of the raid depicted the soldiers raiding the office, while others showed military vehicles and troops moving through the city streets.

An AFP journalist saw soldiers on the ground around Al-Manara Square in the city center and on balconies overlooking it.

Witnesses told AFP that the army withdrew in the early afternoon.

While the IDF has maintained a strong presence throughout the West Bank since the outbreak of the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, it is uncommon for the military to operate inside Ramallah, the administrative center of the Palestinian Authority.

However, past raids in the city have also targeted money changers with links to terrorist organizations.

Since October 7, 2023, troops have arrested some 6,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,350 affiliated with Hamas.

According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 950 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.

During the same period, 53 others, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.