Aug. 30 (UPI) — The Israel Defense Forces Friday said the head of Hamas in Jenin was killed during a West Bank counterterrorism airstrike.
Wassem Hazam, was “eliminated during a counterterrorism operation in the northern Samaria area,” the IDF wrote on X.
“He was identified alongside a terrorist cell in a vehicle in the area. Hazem was involved in carrying out and directing shooting and bombing attacks, and continuously advanced terrorist activities in the Judea and Samaria area,” IDF said.
The IDF posted a video on X depicting the strike that it said killed Hazem.
It added that Maysara Masharqa and Arafat Amer, who IDF said operated under Hazem’s command and “took part in shooting attacks against Israeli communities” were also killed by IDF aircraft as they attempted to flee form a vehicle they were in alongside Hazem.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the bodies were taken by Israeli troops, Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Israel’s military obstructed ambulances from reaching the scene of the attack.
At least 20 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its military operation in the West Bank, including 11 in Jenin, five in Tulkarm and four in Tubas, WAFA reported.
Earlier Friday morning, according to WAFA, Israeli forces had surrounded a house in Zababdeh and opened fire on it.
The IDF began what it described as an ongoing counter-terrorism operation Tuesday night.
On Thursday, the IDF reported its soldiers killed five “terrorists” in a West Bank mosque.
