11 Palestinians killed in West Bank during IDF counterterror operations
Five killed by airstrikes as IDF says gunmen hit in two sets of strikes in Jenin; four more killed in Aqabah, southeast of city; and another two in Kafr Qud
Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinian gunmen, five of them in drone strikes, amid an operation in and around the northern West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the military said.
Palestinian health officials confirmed that 11 people had been killed, including five in Jenin, four in the Tubas area, and another two in the Jenin suburb of Kafr Qud.
The military said an Israeli Air Force drone hit groups of gunmen in two separate strikes in Jenin as troops carried out a counterterrorism operation.
According to a military source, the first strike hit two gunmen on a motorcycle who were shooting at troops. The second strike targeted another cell that opened fire at forces.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said five people were killed in the strike.
Separately, Israeli Border Police troops killed four Palestinian gunmen and wounded 10 others during an overnight operation. According to police, the incident took place in the West Bank city of Jenin. However, Palestinians said they occurred in the town of Aqabah, near Tubas.
במבצע נרחב של כוחות הביטחון בג'נין שבחטיבת מנשה; 11 מחבלים חוסלו בתקיפות כלי טיס ובחילופי אש עם הכוחות.
לוחמי צה"ל, שב"כ ומג"ב פעלו החל מאתמול בשעות הצהריים במבצע לסיכול טרור בג׳נין ובכפרים הסמוכים בחטיבת מנשה.
במהלך המבצע כלי טיס של חיל-האוויר, תקפו וחיסלו ארבעה מחבלים חמושים… pic.twitter.com/KthK6hGelf
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) August 6, 2024
According to police, undercover officers operated to arrest wanted Palestinians, including one suspected of terror activities. Police said the suspected terrorist began to flee as troops surrounded his home, along with another gunman.
The Border Police officers then opened fire, killing the gunman and wounding the wanted man.
Additionally, troops returned fire at gunmen and other Palestinians hurling explosive devices at them, killing three and wounding nine others, according to police. No soldiers were hurt in the operation.
Aqabah residents said Israeli troops arrived at dawn and surrounded the house of a man named Amid Ghanam, leading to the clashes. Ghanam and two others were killed in the clashes, while a teenager was killed near a hospital, said Tubas governor Ahmed Assad.
The teenager was shot when the troops “entered the area of the hospital,” Assad said, claiming the teen “was killed in cold blood.”
Another two Palestinians were killed in the town of Kafr Qud, close to Jenin on Tuesday, the PA ministry said. It said Israeli authorities were holding their bodies.
The IDF said that in all, troops and Border Police officers had killed 11 gunmen in airstrikes and clashes.
The military said that some had opened fire at troops, others had hurled explosive devices, and some were attempting to plant a bomb.
One soldier was moderately wounded amid the fighting, the IDF said.
In the past nine months, the IDF has carried out more than 60 airstrikes in the West Bank, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.
Tensions have been high in the West Bank amid the war in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel under a barrage of rockets fired at population centers all over the country. They brutally killed some 1,200 people, amid instances of torture and rape, and seized 251 hostages.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,400 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,850 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 590 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.
During the same period, 25 Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
