Israeli special forces say a terror group commander is among five people killed in a shootout at a mosque in the occupied West Bank yesterday, the largest operation in two decades.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Mohammed Jaber, better known as Abu Shujaa, a commander of the militant group Islamic Jihad in the Nur Shams refugee camp, was killed along with other members of his group while they were hiding in the building.
The large-scale military campaign, which began on Tuesday night and Wednesday, is still ongoing and has included raids in the northern part of the region, including the governorates of Nablus, Tulkarem, Jenin and Tubas.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll in the attack so far is at least 12. Reports say two boys were among the dead as they walked past a house that was targeted in an Israeli airstrike.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned “the loss of lives, including of children,” and called for “an immediate end to these operations.”
Israeli soldiers take up positions during a military operation in Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank on August 29
A Palestinian boy raises his arm in the air as Israeli soldiers inspect what he is wearing during a raid in Jenin
Israeli armored vehicles drive on a road during a military operation in Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank
Israeli soldiers step out of an armored vehicle as they take up position during an army operation in Tulkarm
The IDF reported that Mohammed Jaber (pictured), known as Abu Shujaa, a commander of the militant group Islamic Jihad was killed in the Nur Shams refugee camp
Violence in the West Bank has increased since the Hamas attack from Gaza on October 7, which sparked the war there.
Israel has since carried out almost daily raids in the area, but this is believed to be the most massive and coordinated operation since 2002, during the second Palestinian intifada (uprising).
The UN has warned that the situation in the occupied West Bank “could deteriorate dramatically if the ISF continues to systematically use unlawful, lethal force and ignore settler violence”.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Thursday he has started asking member states whether they want to impose sanctions on “some Israeli ministers”.
“I have initiated the procedure to ask member states whether they consider it appropriate to include in our list of sanctions a number of Israeli ministers who have spread unacceptable hate speech against the Palestinians and have proposed things that are clearly contrary to international law,” he told reporters ahead of a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
He did not name any Israeli minister he was referring to.
The UN’s OHCR said the Israeli military carried out “at least four” airstrikes on the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem on Monday night, killing five people.
Members of a Palestinian family fleeing an Israeli raid on the Nur Shams camp near the town of Tulkarem
Among them were three Palestinian men and two boys aged 13 and 15, the agency said.
“Three of the fatalities, including the two boys, were killed as they walked past the targeted house, which was located in one of the small and crowded alleys in the camp,” OHCHR said in a statement, citing multiple sources.
Israel said Abu Shujaa, who the Israeli military said was killed in a Shin Bet-coordinated attack, was linked to numerous attacks against Israelis, including a deadly shooting in June, and was planning more attacks.
Earlier this year it was reported that he had been killed, but he subsequently made a surprise appearance at the funeral of other militants, where he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a cheering crowd.
There has been no direct confirmation of his death from the Palestinian side today.
Israeli military vehicles drive on a road during a raid in the northern occupied West Bank town of Tulkarm
According to the Israeli military, another militant was arrested during the operation in the West Bank town of Tulkarem and a member of the Israeli paramilitary Border Police was lightly injured.
At least 637 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war in Gaza began, according to UN figures.
According to official Israeli figures, at least 19 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during military operations in the West Bank.