Israel kills prominent militant as it wages its deadliest West Bank raids since Gaza war began

The Israeli military said it killed five more militants, 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 militants, 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.

Quick Read

• The Israeli military has killed five more militants, including a local commander, during ongoing raids in the West Bank, making it one of the deadliest operations in the territory since the start of the Gaza war.
• The simultaneous raids across the northern West Bank have killed a total of 16 people, nearly all militants, since late Tuesday.
• Israel claims the raids are aimed at preventing attacks, but Palestinians view them as a widening of the Israel-Hamas war and an attempt to continue Israel’s military control over the West Bank.
• Islamic Jihad confirmed that Mohammed Jaber, also known as Abu Shujaa, was killed during a raid in Tulkarem. He was previously reported dead earlier in the year but had made a surprise appearance at the funeral of other militants.
• The military stated that Abu Shujaa was involved in multiple attacks on Israelis and was planning more; he was killed alongside four other militants in a mosque where they had taken refuge.
• Israel launched a large-scale operation in the West Bank overnight into Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of 10 Hamas fighters and one other Palestinian, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
• Over 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war, with most being militants, though civilians and rock-throwing protesters have also been among the dead.
• Israel says these operations are necessary to prevent attacks on its citizens, which have increased since the war began.
• The West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem were captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians seek these territories for their future state.
• Hamas has called for Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up and accused Israel of planning to expand the war in Gaza.
• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the Israeli raids, but his security forces are not expected to engage.
• The war in Gaza began when Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 250 others; Israel’s response has led to over 40,000 Palestinian deaths and widespread displacement in Gaza.
• The U.S., Qatar, and Egypt have been mediating cease-fire talks to secure the release of remaining hostages, but negotiations have stalled as Israel continues its offensive and Hamas demands a full withdrawal from Gaza.

The Associated Press has the story:

Israel kills prominent militant as it wages its deadliest West Bank raids since Gaza war began

Newslooks- TULKAREM, West Bank (AP) —

The Israeli military said it killed five more militants, 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 militants, 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.

The Islamic Jihad militant 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 other militants, where he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a cheering crowd.

The military said he was killed early Thursday along with four other militants 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 militant 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. 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. Most appear to have been militants killed in gunbattles during Israeli operations like the one this week, but civilian bystanders and rock-throwing protesters have also been killed, and the territory saw a surge of settler violence. Israel says the operations are required to prevent attacks on its citizens, which have also risen 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 militant 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 militant 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. The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and rampaged through army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. The militants are still holding 108 hostages, around a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a November cease-fire.

Israel responded with an offensive that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants. 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 militant group has demanded a lasting cease-fire and a full withdrawal from the territory.

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