IDF confirms son of terror commander Zakaria Zubeidi among gunmen killed in West Bank drone strike
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF confirms killing the son of notorious terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi and other gunmen in a drone strike early this morning in the West Bank city of Tubas, amid renewed operations there.
The IDF has been carrying out a major operation in the northern West Bank since August 28. The operation — internally dubbed “Summer Camps” by the army — began with simultaneous raids on Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas.
The military says it began a new raid overnight in Tubas and the nearby Far’a camp, as well as a separate operation in Jericho.
In Tubas, a drone targeted a cell of gunmen, the IDF says.
Among the dead was Mohammed Zubeidi, 21, the son of Zakaria Zubeidi, who in September 2021 escaped from Gilboa Prison along with five other high-security prisoners, leading Israeli security forces on a two-week manhunt before being caught.
The IDF says that the younger Zubeidi was a “prominent terrorist from the Jenin area” who participated in shooting attacks against Israeli towns close to the West Bank security barrier, as well as other attacks on troops.
The other four gunmen — identified by the Palestinian Authority health ministry as Ahmed Abu Dawas, 24, Mohammed Abu Juma, 30, Qusay Abd al-Razeq, 26, and Mohammed Abu Zagha, 23 — were also involved in shooting attacks, the IDF adds.
Meanwhile, in the Far’a camp, the IDF says a drone targeted a group of armed Palestinians that were hurling explosive devices at troops, and separately, members of the Israel Prison Service’s elite Metzada Unit killed a gunman who was holding a bomb.
