JERUSALEM: After an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank that killed nine Palestinians, including seven militants and a 61-year-old woman, Gaza militants started firing rockets, and Israel began airstrikes early Friday morning.

It was the territory's deadliest single raid in over two decades. The escalation of violence is an early litmus test for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government. It casts doubt on US Secretary of State Antony Blicken's planned visit to the region next week.

According to the military, three of the five rockets fired at Israel were intercepted, one fell in an open area, and another fell short inside Gaza. According to the report, the airstrikes targeted a Hamas underground rocket manufacturing facility and militant training areas.

The rockets triggered air raid sirens in southern Israel, but no casualties were reported on either side. Both Palestinian rockets and Israeli airstrikes appeared to be limited in order to avoid escalation into a full-fledged war. Since the militant group seized power in Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, Israel and Hamas have fought four wars and several more minor skirmishes.

The deadly raid in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday was likely to reverberate on Friday when Palestinians gathered for weekly Muslim prayers, which are frequently followed by protests. Hamas had previously threatened retaliation for the raid.

Raising the stakes, the Palestinian Authority said it would cut security ties with Israel in a joint effort to contain Islamic militants. Previous threats have been short-lived, due in part to the benefits the authority derives from the relationship, as well as U.S. and Israeli pressure to keep it going.

The Palestinian Authority already has limited control over scattered enclaves in the West Bank and almost no control over militant strongholds such as Jenin. However, the announcement may pave the way for Israel to step up operations that it claims are necessary to prevent attacks.

On Thursday, Israeli forces increased their patrols across the West Bank as Palestinians chanted in solidarity with Jenin. President Mahmoud Abbas declared three days of mourning, and residents dug a mass grave for the dead in the refugee camp.

According to Palestinian Authority spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Abbas decided to reduce security coordination due to "repeated aggression against our people." He also stated that the Palestinians intended to file complaints with the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court, and other international organizations.

Four of the dead were claimed by Hamas' armed wing, while three others were claimed by Islamic Jihad. Magda Obaid, 61, was identified as the victim by the Palestinian Health Ministry, and the Israeli military said it was investigating her death.

The Israeli military distributed aerial video purportedly taken during the battle, showing Palestinians on rooftops hurling stones and firebombs at Israeli forces below. At least one Palestinian is seen firing from a rooftop.

Later in the day, Israeli forces killed a 22-year-old man and injured two others as Palestinians protested Thursday's raid north of Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. According to Israel's Border Police, they opened fire on Palestinians who launched fireworks at them from close range.

Tensions have risen since Israel increased raids in the West Bank last spring in response to a series of Palestinian attacks.

Israel's new national security minister, far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who wants to give Israeli soldiers who shoot Palestinians legal immunity, posted a video of himself triumphantly congratulating security forces.

Jenin was left in ruins as a result of the raid. The operation's apparent target, a two-story building, was a charred wreck. According to the military, it entered the building to detonate explosives.

During the fighting, Palestinian Health Minister May Al-Kaila said paramedics struggled to reach the wounded, while Jenin Governor Akram Rajoub said the military prevented emergency workers from evacuating them.

Both accused the military of firing tear gas into a hospital's pediatric ward, causing children to choke. Women were seen carrying children into a corridor on hospital video, and tear gas was likely blown into the hospital from nearby clashes.

According to the Israeli rights group B'Tselem, Thursday was the bloodiest West Bank incursion since 2002, at the height of the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising, which left scars visible in Jenin.

The violence has "deeply alarmed and saddened" United Nations Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Turkey, which recently reestablished full diplomatic relations with Israel, both issued condemnations. The Israeli raid was also condemned by Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf countries.

The Gaza branch of the Islamic Jihad has repeatedly fought Israel, most recently in a three-day battle last summer that killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

According to B'Tselem, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem last year, making 2022 the deadliest year in those areas since 2004. 30 Palestinians have been killed this year.

According to Israel, the majority of those killed were militants. However, youths protesting the incursions and others who were not involved in the clashes have also been killed. One-third of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops or civilians this year, not including Thursday, had ties to armed groups. Last year, 30 Palestinians were killed in attacks on Israelis.

Israel claims that its raids are intended to dismantle militant networks and prevent attacks. According to the Palestinians, the agreement cements Israel's 55-year-long occupation of the West Bank, which Israel captured along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want those areas for their future state.

In the West Bank, Israel has established dozens of settlements that now house 500,000 people. Even though peace talks have been stalled for over a decade, the Palestinians and much of the international community see settlements as illegal and an impediment to peace.