Medical sources informed Al Jazeera that Haitham Balidi, chief of Hamas’ navy wing in Nablus, was killed in an airstrike on a automotive within the occupied West Financial institution.
At the very least 5 individuals, together with a neighborhood commander of Hamas’ navy wing, had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a automotive in Tulkarem within the occupied West Financial institution.
Medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera on Saturday that one of many individuals killed was Haitham Balidi, a frontrunner of the Qassam Brigades within the Nablus space. One other individual was recognized by a relative as a frontrunner of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
The identities of the others weren’t instantly clear. Family members rushed to a hospital in Tulkarem to determine the dismembered our bodies that had been introduced there.
The Israeli navy mentioned the automotive was carrying a “terror squad,” with out giving additional particulars. Airstrikes within the occupied Palestinian territory have elevated because the begin of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, with authorities recording at the least 29 assaults which have killed greater than 80 Palestinians.
The assault befell because the Israeli military attacked a number of cities within the West Financial institution.
Within the city of Tulkarem, Israeli bulldozers destroyed infrastructure, whereas in Nablus Israeli troopers detained three Palestinians, together with a journalist. Different raids had been reported in Jenin, Faqqa, Deir Abu Daif, Bethlehem and close to Ramallah. In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces once more detained activist Ramzi Abbasi, who had been launched final November.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed at the least 600 Palestinians within the West Financial institution, together with 144 youngsters.
In the meantime, Israeli floor raids and mass arrests within the West Financial institution have additionally skyrocketed over the identical interval, changing into an virtually day by day prevalence.
In accordance with the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, greater than 9,300 individuals have ended up in Israeli jails. Of those, at the least 3,400 are in so-called administrative detention, a controversial observe that enables Israel to carry suspects for lengthy durations with out them having dedicated any crime.
The Israeli incursion into cities and villages within the occupied West Financial institution can also be inflicting extreme disruption to civilian life. The UN company for Palestinian refugees mentioned on Friday that the state of affairs within the West Financial institution is worsening by the day in what it described as a “silent conflict” amid water shortages and electrical energy cuts.
The West Financial institution has been beneath Israeli occupation since 1967. In a landmark, although non-binding, ruling final month the Worldwide Court docket of Justice declared Israel’s continued presence unlawful.