IDF drone strike near Jenin kills Hamas terrorist behind deadly Jordan Valley shooting
Another three gunmen killed in strike in town of Sir, northern West Bank; Wael Lahlouh murdered Yonatan Deutsch, wounded another man in August attack
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
An Israeli drone strike near the West Bank city of Jenin on Sunday morning killed four Palestinian gunmen including a Hamas terrorist responsible for a deadly shooting attack in the Jordan Valley in the summer, the military said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the cell of four gunmen killed in the airstrike in the town of Sir, close to Jenin, was responsible for several shooting attacks against Israeli towns bordering the northern West Bank.
The head of the cell, Wael Lahlouh, 31, from Qabatiya, carried out a shooting attack on August 11 at the Mehola Junction on Route 90, the main north-south artery in the Jordan Valley, killing Yonatan Deutsch, 23, and wounding Anas Jaramana, 32.
Lahlouh and another Hamas terrorist managed to flee the scene of the attack. The terror group later released a video showing the shooting.
The IDF said that, following the attack, Lahlouh worked to recruit additional terrorists in Jenin for “imminent” attacks.
After the four gunmen were targeted in the drone strike, troops raided the site and seized three guns from their bodies, the military said.
An IDF drone strike against Palestinian gunmen near the West Bank city of Jenin, December 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Additional weapon parts and military equipment were also captured, the army added.
חוסל המחבל שרצח את יהונתן דויטש ז״ל ועמד בראש חוליית מחבלים שביצעה מספר פיגועי ירי במרחב הגלבוע, שלושה מחבלים נוספים חוסלו בתקיפה >> pic.twitter.com/5XU8mwEcTu
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 1, 2024
The Palestinian Authority health ministry said it was informed of the deaths of the four, indicating that their bodies are being held by Israeli authorities.
The West Bank, which is controlled by Israeli security forces, has seen a sharp rise in violence since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
The onslaught was followed by sharp restrictions on Palestinian movement in the West Bank and wide-scale counterterrorism operations there. On Wednesday, the Shin Bet said it thwarted an arms shipment to the West Bank by Iran, Hamas’s benefactor.
Since the Hamas onslaught, Israeli troops have arrested some 5,250 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,050 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 716 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, 41 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another six members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
