Islamic Jihad commander killed, 5 hurt in Israeli drone strike in Tulkarem

An Israeli drone strike on Sunday killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander and wounded five in the Nur Shams camp in the West Bank city of Tulkarem.

Islamic Jihad identified the slain man, Saeed Jaber, as “one of the founders and most prominent leaders” of its local wing in Tulkarem.

Israeli military sources said he was the second in command of the so-called Tulkarem Brigade. Palestinian media reports said he was a relative of Muhammad Jaber, known as Abu Shuja’a, the commander of the Tulkarem Brigade.

According to the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency, Saeed Jaber was responsible for several shooting and explosive device attacks against troops and civilians.

The home that was targeted in the strike was being used by several Islamic Jihad operatives, who the IDF said were responsible for shooting attacks on the West Bank security barrier, including against the town of Bat Hefer.

The military said the terror operatives were also linked to the killing of Amnon Muchtar in a terror attack in Qalqilya last weekend.

The home was being used by the operatives to plan terror attacks, build explosive devices, and provide cover for wanted Palestinians, the IDF added.

Among the five who were injured, two were in serious condition, the Palestinian Authority health ministry said.

בפעילות משותפת של צה״ל ושב״כ הותקפה דירת מבוקשים טול-כרם שבחטיבת מנשה, שבה היה סעיד ג׳אבר, פעיל טרור אשר הכווין מתווי טרור והיה מעורב בשורה של פיגועי ירי ומטענים לעבר אזרחים וכוחות צה״ל באזור טול-כרם, וכן הכוונה של פיגועים נוספים והקמת תשתיות טרור>> pic.twitter.com/V28IHscHtv

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 30, 2024

IDF special forces were also carrying out a raid in the Far’a camp, in the northern West Bank on Sunday.

Military sources said the troops detained several wanted Palestinians and were exchanging fire with gunmen.

Tensions have been high in the West Bank amid the war in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel under a barrage of rockets fired at population centers all over the country. They brutally killed 1,200 people, amid instances of torture and rape, and seized 251 hostages.

Since October 7, the IDF has carried out some 53 airstrikes in the West Bank, using drones, attack helicopters, and fighter jets.

Those strikes have killed more than 80 terror operatives, and dozens more were wounded, according to the military.

Troops have also arrested some 4,200 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,750 affiliated with Hamas.

According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 540 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed amid raids or terrorists carrying out attacks.

During the same period, 21 Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another four members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.

اغتيال القيادي في كتيبة مخيم نورشمس ومؤسسها، المجاهد سعيد الجابر. pic.twitter.com/6OFzAH3v8Y

— fares (@faresspal) June 30, 2024

On Sunday, a top Hamas official implicitly called on West Bank Palestinians, including members of the PA security forces, to carry out attacks against Israelis.

“We are working to expand the resistance in the West Bank. I ask every person in the West Bank who carries a weapon, officially or unofficially, to fulfill his responsibility, because every person with a weapon in the West Bank can make a difference and have a qualitative impact,” said Hussam Badran, a former leader of Hamas’s military wing in the northern West Bank who orchestrated several terror attacks against Israelis during the Second Intifada, and lives today in Qatar.

“A Palestinian today does not need an order or decision by any party to act, and must take the initiative on his own,” he added in an interview with the Qudsuna satellite TV channel.