Israeli forces killed a local Hamas commander in Jenin on Friday during a major operation in the occupied West Bank that continued for the third day, according to the Israeli military. The military reported that Border Police forces had killed Wassem Hazem, the head of Hamas in Jenin, who was involved in shooting and bombing attacks in the Palestinian territory. Two other Hamas gunmen attempting to escape the vehicle were killed by a drone. The vehicle was found to contain weapons, explosives, and large sums of cash. Hamas confirmed the deaths of all three men, who were members of its Al-Qassam Brigades armed wing.
In the village of Zababdeh, outside Jenin, a car pursued by an Israeli special forces unit was found burnt-out and riddled with bullet holes. Villager Saif Ghannam, 25, reported that one of the two men who escaped the vehicle was killed by a small drone strike near his house, while the other was killed a short distance away. Israeli forces removed the bodies, leaving large pools of blood on the ground.
The incident took place during a large-scale operation involving hundreds of troops and police, launched early Wednesday in Jenin, Tulkarm, and the Jordan Valley. Israeli armored personnel carriers, supported by helicopters and drones, advanced into Jenin and Tulkarm, while armored bulldozers destroyed roadside bombs. The hostilities in the West Bank escalate as fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas continues in Gaza, and clashes with Hezbollah in the Israel-Lebanon border area intensify.
In the first two days of the West Bank operation, at least 17 Palestinians were killed. Since the Hamas attack on Israel last October, over 660 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to Palestinian tallies. The British government expressed deep concern over Israel's operation in the West Bank, calling for urgent de-escalation and expressing worry over reported civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
