West Bank: The Israeli military on Thursday said its troops killed five Palestinian fighters, including a prominent commander, who were hiding inside a mosque in the Tulkarm city of occupied West Bank, as part of one of the largest assaults on the territory in months. This came a day after the military gunned down 12 militants in simultaneous raids in several West Bank raids.
"Following exchanges of fire, the forces eliminated five terrorists who had hidden inside a mosque in Tulkarm," said the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). Israel said one of the fighters killed in the attack was Muhhamad Jabber, also known as 'Abu Shujaa', who was the head of a terrorist network in the Nur Shams area.
"He was involved in carrying out numerous terrorist attacks, including a shooting attack in which an Israeli civilian, Amnon Muchtar, was murdered in June. He was eliminated alongside 4 additional terrorists who hid inside a mosque in Tulkarm," said the IDF in a statement. At least 16 people have been killed since Israel launched simultaneous raids as part of a counterterrorism operation backed by helicopters and drones on Wednesday.
Islamic Jihad reacts to Palestinian commander's death
Meanwhile, the Tulkarm division of Islamic Jihad's armed wing said its fighters were able to ambush an infantry force in the Manshiyya axis behind Abu Ubaida Mosque in response to the assassination of its leader. The militant group claimed "direct hits" on Israeli troops after it detonated an explosive device near them.
The armed wings of the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah factions said in separate statements on Wednesday their gunmen were detonating bombs against Israeli military vehicles in Jenin, Tulkarm and Far'a, a town in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli troops had surrounded Jenin's main hospital, blocking off access with earth mounds - a measure the military said was intended to stop fighters seeking refuge.
Situation in West Bank today
Residents in Tulkarm woke up to gunshots and explosions after Israel's attack. "The civil defence came to put out the fire and they (Israeli forces) did not let them through. We broke down the bathroom window and got out. My wife's shoulder and arm were burned. Thank God it only came to that, they did not give us any prior warning or anything, I do not know why they treat us like that," said a Palestinian resident in Tulkarm after the mosque attack.
The city of Jenin, which was completely sealed off by Israeli troops a day earlier, was seen empty with rubbish-strewn streets. There was also a complete network outage at Jawwal, one of the two main telecommunications companies in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, according to a Reuters witness. Hundreds of Israeli troops searched ambulances on deserted city streets and in front of Jenin's main hospital to locate militants.
Why has Israel launched raids in West Bank?
Israel has stepped up operations in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, while Jewish settlers have also launched frequent vigilante-style attacks on Palestinian communities. Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said the operation was the result of an uptick in militant activities in recent months, with over 150 attacks involving shooting or explosives from Tulkarm and Jenin in the past year.
Israel has accused Iran of supporting militant proxies in the West Bank, with foreign Israel Katz calling the latest operation a "war in every sense". He accused Iran of destabilising the West Bank and the Jordan Valley as it did with Gaza and Lebanon, where Israel is trading almost daily fire with militants from Tehran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.
Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in raids and more than 660 - fighters and civilians - have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war began. At least 30 Israelis have been killed in attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the period, according to Israeli tallies. Hamas has called on Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up, saying the raids are part of a larger plan to expand the war in Gaza and blaming the escalation on US support for Israel.
(with agency input)
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