West Bank drone strikes target Palestinian terror suspects, IDF says
Three men behind deadly attacks targeted in first strike in Jenin; second strike hours later kills two more, kicking off hours-long raid of refugee camp near Tulkarem
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF carried out a pair of drone strikes within hours of one another in the West Bank on Wednesday reportedly killing several Palestinian terror suspects in each bombing as it intensified its use of the tactic that was once reserved for Gaza and other territories where the army operates.
The earlier strike on Wednesday afternoon killed three Palestinian terror operatives and seriously wounded another as they were driving in the West Bank city of Jenin, the military and Palestinian health officials said.
The slain gunmen were named by Palestinian media as Ahmed Barakat, Muhammad Fayed and Mahmoud Rahhal. Seriously wounded in the strike was Muhammad Hawashin.
According to the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency, the four were Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives.
The IDF said Barakat carried out two major shooting attacks last year, including the killing of Meir Tamari near the West Bank settlement of Hermesh in May 2023, and another attack in the area in June 2023 that wounded four soldiers and one civilian.
Hawashin was identified by the Shin Bet as a commander of a local PIJ wing in Jenin.
According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Barakat and Hawashin were also behind an attempt to send a suicide bomber into Israel on March 11, and directed a shooting and bombing attack against troops near the Homesh outpost on March 8, in which seven troops were wounded.
The IDF released footage showing the strike on the vehicle the four terror operatives were in.
Surveillance camera footage circulated online also showed the moment of the strike.
لحظة قصف السيارة في جنين قبيل الافطار والذي إسفر عن 3 شهداء وإصابة خطيرة. pic.twitter.com/cDE58en2nt
— شجاعية (@shejae3a) March 20, 2024
Roughly six hours later, the IDF said it killed two more terror suspects in another drone strike in the West Bank’s Nur Shams refugee camp, adding that the pair were armed and posed a threat to troops.
The drone strike kicked off what the IDF said was an hours-long, brigade-level raid in the refugee camp near Tulkarem.
According to Channel 13, this was the 46th airstrike that the IDF conducted in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began over five months ago.
تغطية صحفية: "جانب من اقتحام قوات الاحتلال لمدينة طولكرم ومخيم نور شمس". pic.twitter.com/awuTck7IJC
— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) March 20, 2024
Amid the IDF raid in Tulkarem, another two Palestinians were killed in clashes with troops, the Palestinian Authority health ministry said Thursday morning.
https://twitter.com/fer9s/status/1770710509660074135?s=19
Security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been on high alert since Ramadan started last week. Tensions were already high between Israelis and Palestinians due to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the October 7 massacre, which saw Hamas terrorists murder about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnap 253.
Since October 7, the IDF has said troops have arrested some 3,500 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,500 affiliated with Hamas.
Palestinians say over 400 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since hostilities broke out, most while carrying out attacks or during clashes with IDF troops during nightly raids that have largely concentrated on a handful of areas in the northern West Bank. However, killings of innocent bystanders have also been alleged.
