The Israeli military says it has killed the head of the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Jenin and two other fighters, as a major operation continues for a third day in the north of the occupied West Bank.
Israeli security forces “encountered and eliminated” Wissam Khazem in a vehicle and then carried out air strikes on “two additional terrorists while they attempted to flee”, a statement said.
The Palestinian health ministry said the three men were killed overnight near the town of Zababdeh, south-east of Jenin.
Palestinian media also reported that Israeli forces had withdrawn from Tulkarm after causing severe damage to buildings and infrastructure in the city’s refugee camps.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which said on Thursday that it had killed five members of armed groups in Tulkarm, including their local leader.
The military did, however, announce that forces had pulled out of the al-Faraa refugee camp near Tubas after completing what it called “the objective of foiling terror, exposing terrorist infrastructure and eliminating armed terrorists”.
At least 19 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli operation, which is one of the biggest in the West Bank in two decades, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
With the war in Gaza still raging, it is causing international alarm.
The UK said on Friday that it was “deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure”.
“The risk of instability is serious and the need for de-escalation urgent,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that the raids were “fuelling an already explosive situation”.
There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October and the ensuing war in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids, saying they are trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.
