Israel Claims That On The Third Day Of The West Bank Operation, A Hamas Senior Was Killed.
As a significant operation in the northern part of the occupied West Bank enters its third day, the Israeli military reports that it has killed two fighters and the leader of the Palestinian armed group, Hamas, in Jenin.
According to a statement, Israeli security officers shot and killed Wissam Khazem before attacking the other two as they tried to escape.
The three men were slain Sunday night close to the town of Zababdeh, southeast of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Additionally, Hamas verified their demise.
According to the ministry, Israeli gunfire in Jenin proper subsequently killed an elderly man, and Israeli forces withdrew from Tulkarm and its camps for refugees.
The Palestinian health ministry reports that since the Israeli operation began, at least 20 Palestinians have died, making it one of the largest in the West Bank in 20 years. Most of them have been classified as fighters by armed groups.
The Israeli military claims that during “a precise, targeted regional operation across three terror hubs,” 20 “terrorists” have been killed in gunfire and airstrikes, and 17 detainees have been taken into custody.
Since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent conflict in Gaza, there has been an increase in violence on the West Bank.
Israeli forces have increased their operations, claiming they are attempting to stop the fatal Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel, but hundreds of Palestinians have died in the process.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israel Border Police, and the domestic security organization Shin Bet released a joint statement on Friday morning saying that Wissam Khazem had been killed during an operation in the Jenin region.
It said that Khazem had been “encountered and eliminated” by Border Police officers while driving, and it charged him with planning and carrying out bombing and shooting acts.
It further stated that two more terrorists were “eliminated while they attempted to flee from the vehicle” by an IDF aircraft shortly after. It claimed that they had participated in shooting attacks and identified them as Arafat Amer and Maysara Masharqa.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli forces removed the three men’s bodies after they were slain in Zababdeh.
The town’s residents discovered a shot-riddled, burned-out automobile accident and claimed to have witnessed two drone strikes.
The Izzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, verified that Khazem was a leader in the Jenin camp and that Amer and Masharqa were members.
Additionally, Israeli soldiers carried out their operations in Jenin for a third day in a row.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which was cited by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, an Israeli military ambushed and killed a man from the city’s eastern neighborhood on Friday night. The ambulance carrying his body to a nearby hospital was later fired upon.
Wafa recognized the deceased guy as 82-year-old Tawfiq Qandil.
As Israeli soldiers withdrew, inhabitants of Tulkarm and its camps for refugees assessed the harm done to buildings and other structures.
Umm Yazan, a resident of Nur Shams camp, told the BBC that soldiers had set up cables from her house to blow up two houses across from her.
“They locked my 10-year-old triplets and me in a room,” she exclaimed. “After that, they began to explode; there were five total. Picture yourself and your small children clinging to you while the walls tremble. We feel as though we are in Gaza.”
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)-affiliated Tulkarm Brigade leader Mohammed Jaber was among the “five terrorists who were hiding in a mosque” that the Israeli military claimed to have killed on Thursday
Four Palestinians have died in the 48-hour operation, according to Wafa.
Jaber was buried on Friday in Nur Shams alongside Ayed Abu Hajja, 69, a crippled man who, according to his neighbors, was shot by a sniper when he opened a window of his camp home.
Additionally on Thursday, the Israeli military declared that after accomplishing “the objective of foiling terror, exposing terrorist infrastructure, and eliminating armed terrorists,” its forces had left the al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas.
Tens of thousands of refugees in four refugee camps had been impacted by the raids, according to Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UNRWA, who also indicated that the organization had to halt operations in multiple camps.
The Israeli operation is alarming the world community while the war in Gaza continues.
Although the UK acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defense against security threats, it expressed great concern on Friday over “the methods Israel has employed, as well as reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.”
“De-escalation is urgently needed as there is a serious risk of instability,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman stated.
Thursday saw a warning from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the searches were “fuelling an already explosive situation.”
