Israeli airstrike in West Bank kills two senior Hamas fighters

RAMALLAH, WESTERN CITY:

Israel carried out an airstrike on Saturday in Jenin, located in the occupied West Bank, killing two senior Hamas fighters. The Israel Security Service and Israel Defense Forces identified the fighters as Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafet Dawasi, both from the northern area around Jenin.

According to Israeli authorities, these individuals were involved in planning a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley last week that resulted in the death of an Israeli man, Yonatan Deutsch.

Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed the deaths, mourning the loss of the two fighters targeted in the airstrike. The Israeli military said the militants were responsible for the Aug. 11 attack, in which Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a main road in the occupied West Bank, killing Deutsch and wounding another person.

Later in the day, the Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the killing of an Israeli soldier near the settlement of Mehola in the Jordan Valley, saying its fighters carried out the operation and returned safely to their bases. Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City, which had killed at least 90 displaced Palestinians.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October. This conflict has led to increased Israeli military incursions, attacks by Jewish settlers, and Palestinian street violence. On Thursday, Israeli settlers killed at least one Palestinian in an attack on a village near Qalqilya, a move condemned by the United States, the United Kingdom and France.

As violence continues to escalate, a new round of talks aimed at ending the 10-month conflict in Gaza is scheduled to resume in Doha next week. There are growing concerns that the ongoing war in Gaza and escalating violence in the West Bank could lead to a wider regional conflict involving Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.