From the Liveblog of
Friday, April 12, 2024
IDF confirms death of Hamas military wing operative in early morning West Bank raid
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of two Palestinians, including a senior member of the Hamas military wing, during an early morning raid near the West Bank city of Tubas.
Mohammad Omar Daraghmeh, the head of a local Hamas infrastructure in the northern West Bank city of Tubas, was killed during an exchange of fire with troops, the IDF says.
Amid the overnight incident, Daraghmeh shot at troops from a vehicle, who then returned fire, killing him. Several firearms and other military equipment were seized from his car.
Daraghmeh was a “central Hamas operative” in the Tubas area and in recent months was working on “advancing significant terror acts against Israel,” according to the IDF.
Hamas confirms Daraghmeh’s death and that he was a member of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The IDF says the second Palestinian man, named by Palestinian media as Mohammad Shahmawi, was killed when troops opened fire on Palestinians who were shooting and throwing explosive devices at them.
Hamas says it mourned Shahmawi’s death, but does not claim him as a member of the terror group.
Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,700 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,600 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 450 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen or terrorists carrying out attacks.
Reuters contributed to this report.
