Israel drone strike kills Hamas commander in West Bank

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced today that a drone strike killed Ashraf Nafa, the Hamas commander in Tulkarm city in the northern West Bank.

According to Haaretz, the IDF claimed that an Israeli aircraft targeted militants in Tulkarm, leading to an exchange of gunfire between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the area.

The military’s statement added that the strike was based on precise intelligence and resulted in the deaths of seven to nine Palestinians. Israeli state-owned Kan TV news said during the raid, the Israeli army targeted a group of armed men by drone.

However, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported that a Palestinian woman was among the casualties, and at least three other Palestinians were wounded.

Moreover, local residents stated that the Israeli military is holding the bodies of three of the deceased, and Palestinian media outlets released a video showing an IDF armoured bulldozer transporting bodies.

In a separate clash, two young Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire in the southern West Bank town of Sa’ir, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a press statement.

Israeli troops have been entering various parts of the Occupied West Bank regularly for the past few years, but their incursions have increased with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on 7 October, 2023.

Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers. Estimates indicate that around 700,000 Israeli settlers live in roughly 300 illegal settlements in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories are illegal under international law.

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