On Thursday evening, an Israeli fighter jet launched a rare airstrike on the Tulkarm area in the West Bank, killing a senior Hamas commander and several other terrorists.
The Israeli Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency stated in a joint declaration that the Israeli Air Force killed Hamas network leader Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi in the strike on Tulkarm.
According to the statement, Oufi planned and led an unsuccessful car bomb attack near the Ateret Israeli settlement last month, and was planning another terrorist attack targeting Israelis in the near future.
Oufi was also involved in supplying weapons to other terrorists who have carried out multiple attacks in the West Bank and Israel, including attacks that injured Israeli civilians.
The Israeli Defense Forces and the Israel Security Agency added that Oufi “established a terrorist network on behalf of Hamas and assisted terrorists in the region in carrying out major shooting and bombing attacks”.
While the Israeli Defense Forces have conducted dozens of airstrikes in the West Bank in the past year, most have been carried out using drones and helicopters, with fighter jets being rarely utilized.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that Thursday’s airstrike resulted in the deaths of 18 Palestinians and multiple injuries. Sources within the Palestinian security forces told Agence France-Presse that this was the deadliest attack in the West Bank since 2000.
Tulkarm has been a focal point of Israel’s recent counterterrorism operations in West Bank towns and refugee camps, as part of a series of almost daily military raids since the Gaza attack on October 7, aimed at dismantling Palestinian terrorist organizations.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have arrested around 5,250 wanted Palestinians in the West Bank, including over 2,050 Hamas members.
According to data from the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, over 716 Palestinians have died during this period in the West Bank, a vast majority of whom were gunmen killed in clashes, rioters confronting the IDF, or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 40 people, including Israeli security personnel, have died in terrorist attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Additionally, six security force members have died in clashes with terrorists.
(Translated from an article in “Israel Times”)