TULKAREM, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military said it killed five more Hamas members, including a local commander, early Thursday in the West Bank as it pressed ahead with what appeared to be the deadliest military operation in the occupied territory since the start of the war in Gaza.
Israel says the simultaneous raids across the northern West Bank — which have killed a total of 16 people, nearly all Hamas armymen, since late Tuesday — are aimed at preventing attacks. The Palestinians see them as a widening of the Israel-Hamas war aimed at perpetuating Israel’s decades-long military rule over the territory.
Mourners take part in a funeral of four Palestinians who died during an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Faraa, near Tubas, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
The Islamic Jihad group confirmed that Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, was killed during a raid in the city of Tulkarem. He became a hero for many Palestinians earlier in the year when he was reported killed in an Israeli operation, only to make a surprise appearance at the funeral of others, where he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a cheering crowd.
The military said he was killed early Thursday along with four other Hamas members in a shootout with Israeli forces after the five had hidden inside a mosque. It said Abu Shujaa was linked to numerous attacks on Israelis, including a deadly shooting in June, and was planning more.
The military said another Hamas leader was arrested in the operation in Tulkarem, and that a member of Israel’s paramilitary Border Police was lightly wounded.
Israel launched a large-scale operation in the West Bank overnight into Wednesday. Hamas said 10 of its fighters were killed in different locations, and the Palestinian Health Ministry reported an 11th death, without saying whether he was a fighter or a civilian.
Members of Israeli forces patrol a street during a military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Palestinians municipality workers check a damaged house following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Faraa, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
The overall toll of 16 killed in less than two days would make it the deadliest Israeli operation in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says over 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war.
Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
The 3 million Palestinians in the West Bank live under seemingly open-ended Israeli military rule, with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering towns and cities. Over 500,000 Jewish settlers, who have Israeli citizenship, live in well over 100 settlements across the territory that most of the international community considers illegal.
The raids have focused on refugee camps that date back to the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, in which around 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven out of what is now Israel. Many of the camps are strongholds.
Hamas repeated its calls for Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up, calling the raids part of a larger plan to expand the war in Gaza. The group has called on security forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which cooperate with Israel, to “join the sacred battle of our people.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has also condemned the Israeli raids, but his forces were not expected to get involved.
A man takes a picture of a wall displaying photos of Palestinians, who died during previous clashes, following an Israeli military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Faraa, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Around 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, often multiple times, and Israeli bombardment and ground operations have caused vast destruction.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to mediate a cease-fire that would see the remaining hostages released. But the talks have repeatedly bogged down as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed “total victory” over Hamas and the group has demanded a lasting cease-fire and a full withdrawal from the territory.