IDF says it carried out drone strike on West Bank terror cell; 5 reported killed
Hamas member released in November hostage deal said among those killed in Nur Shams; after searches, army rules out reports of suspected kidnapping at Tapuach Junction
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces carried out a drone strike Monday night in the Nur Shams camp near Tulkarem, with the Palestinian Authority health ministry reporting five people were killed.
The military said the target of the strike was a command room belonging to local terror operatives, but did not immediately provide further details.
Palestinian media reported that among the dead was Jibril Jibril, a Hamas member who was released by Israel in a November deal with the Gaza-ruling terror group.
The deal saw Israel release Palestinian terror convicts and detainees, mostly from the West Bank, in exchange for Israeli civilians abducted by Hamas on October 7.
Jibril had been jailed for hurling explosive devices, stone-throwing, and being a member of Hamas.
Since the Hamas-led attack over 10 months ago, the IDF has carried out more than 60 airstrikes in the West Bank, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.
استشهاد المطارد المقاوم بكتائب القسام "جبريل جبريل" من قلقيلية بقصف الاحتلال على مخيم نور شمس ،يُذكر أن الفتى جبريل أُفرج عنه بصفقة تبادل التهدئة بين المقاومة والاحتلال خلال الحرب الحالية، ونفذ عدة عمليات إطلاق نار وأصبح مطارداً منذ تحرره بالصفقة. pic.twitter.com/rRxzZjZ58C
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Also Monday night, IDF troops carried out searches around the Tapuach Junction after reports of a suspected kidnapping, which the military officially ruled out hours later.
The incidents came a day after several attacks in the West Bank, including a car-ramming near the Ariel settlement in which a soldier was lightly wounded.
Two Palestinian assailants in the vehicle were shot dead.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 630 West Bank Palestinians have been since October 7. 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, 27 people, including Israeli 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.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
