CNN
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Israel’s navy stated it killed three Hamas members, together with a commander, as its offensive within the occupied West Financial institution entered its third day.
The Israel Protection Forces (IDF) stated Friday it killed Wissam Khazem, whom it described because the Hamas chief within the metropolis of Jenin, in an alternate of gunfire after he was recognized “in a automobile within the space.” The navy stated it had discovered weapons and cash within the automobile.
Two others have been additionally killed as they tried to flee the automobile, in response to the Israeli navy, naming them as Maysara Masharqa and Arafat Amer. The IDF stated each males belonged to Hamas and “operated underneath the command of Khazem and took half in taking pictures assaults in opposition to Israeli communities.”
In an announcement, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, acknowledged the three males’s deaths and confirmed Khazem was one in all its leaders in Jenin. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a community of Palestinian armed teams, stated Masharqa was its “most outstanding subject commanders” in Jenin.
As of Friday, 19 Palestinians have been killed throughout an expansive Israeli navy operation within the West Financial institution that features the cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem, in response to the Palestinian ministry of well being and Palestinian teams.
A complete of 11 Palestinian militants have been killed within the Israeli operation, in response to a CNN rely. Of these, 5 have been killed Thursday throughout an alternate of fireside “inside and close to a mosque” in Tulkarem. The IDF stated it had killed Muhhamad Jabber, generally known as Abu Shujaa, the chief of the native department of the militant group Islamic Jihad, which later confirmed Jabber’s demise.
Friday’s firefight got here after Israel launched one of many largest assaults on the occupied territory in years. Stressing the necessity to root out what he known as “Islamic-Iranian terrorist infrastructure,” International Minister Israel Katz known as for a Gaza-style operation within the West Financial institution.
Katz warned that Iran was working within the West Financial institution to determine an “jap entrance” in opposition to Israel, working alongside its proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
Israel’s renewed offensive within the West Financial institution has sparked criticism from senior United Nations and Western officers. UN Secretary-Normal António Guterres stated Thursday that Israel’s operation is “deeply regarding.”
Clashes within the West Financial institution have turn out to be extra frequent since Israel started its warfare in Gaza in response to Hamas’ assault on southern Israel on October 7.
The Palestinian Ministry of Well being reported Tuesday that 652 Palestinians, together with 150 kids, have been killed within the West Financial institution and occupied East Jerusalem since October 7, with over 5,400 others injured.
Since Israel started its occupation of the West Financial institution in 1967, the variety of Jewish settlements has swelled within the territory, regardless of being thought of unlawful underneath worldwide legislation.
It is a growing story and shall be up to date.