Troops kill 3 gunmen, detain 14 terror suspects in overnight Jenin raid – IDF
Airstrike carried out against armed Palestinians during operation; another 26 wanted men nabbed across West Bank
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Three Palestinian gunmen were killed and 14 terror suspects were detained by Israeli troops during a counter-terrorism raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin overnight, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday morning.
The IDF said the raid was carried out by the Duvdevan commando unit, the Kfir Brigade’s Haruv reconnaissance unit, and Border Police officers.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry only announced the death of one Palestinian, naming him as Arif Marwan Arif Ali, 25.
In addition to killing the gunmen and nabbing the suspects, the IDF said troops also seized weapons and located explosive devices planted under roads in Jenin.
The airstrike was carried out against a group of Palestinian gunmen who were shooting at the troops, according to the IDF.
It said several Palestinians were “hit” in the strike. Their conditions were not immediately known.
The military released footage showing the airstrike.
In other areas of the West Bank, 26 wanted Palestinians were detained in overnight operations, the IDF said.
The Israeli military has intensified its near-daily raids across the West Bank in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 attack, in operations aimed at dismantling Palestinian terror groups such as Hamas.
Since October 7, Israeli troops have arrested more than 3,200 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,350 affiliated with Hamas, according to security authorities.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry says that more than 400 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.
Based on military estimates, the vast majority of those killed since October 7 were shot during clashes amid arrest raids, and many of them, according to data seen by The Times of Israel, were armed with either a firearm or an explosive device.
The IDF is aware of at least three cases of uninvolved Palestinians being killed by troops in recent months, and a handful of cases of settlers killing Palestinians, which are still under investigation.
