The Israeli special forces on Tuesday eliminated three Palestinian terrorists hiding inside a West Bank hospital, including a senior Hamas commander who was plotting mass-murder of Israelis inspired by the October 7 massacre.
The terrorists used the hospital as a command center in the West Bank town of Jenin and were killed in a covert operation conducted by Israeli commandos dressed in Arab and local garbs.
“The footage showed many undercover forces, some appearing to sport fake beards and others dressed as Muslim women, scouring the hospital corridors while carrying guns,” The Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported:
Combined Israeli special forces killed three wanted terrorists in the West Bank city of Jenin, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed in a joint statement.The counterterrorism operation was led by intelligence from the Shin Bet internal security agency, along with the IDF and the Yamam special forces of the Israel Border Police.CCTV footage, reportedly from the operation, showed the Israeli security forces disguised as doctors and nurses with silencers equipped on their guns.The three wanted men had been hiding in the Ibn Sina hospital, which according to the IDF has seen increased activity of terrorists using the civilian infrastructure as protection while planning attacks. (…)A senior Israeli official described the operation as setting “a precedent” for “activity that has not yet been done.” He said within 10 minutes the terrorists were eliminated and the Israeli team began extraction.”There are no cities of refuge in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and there won’t be – every terrorist knows this. The hand of the IDF and the security establishment will reach everyone,” the official added, reiterating that terrorist have been granted auspice in hospitals and Ibn Sina in particular.The other targets were identified as Muhammad Azawi, a Jenin Battalion operative, and his brother Bassel Azawi, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative. Both had been involved in terrorist activities in the area.
The slain terrorists, belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), were planning “to carry out a terror attack in the immediate period,” the military revealed.
The IDF detailed their terrorist background:
Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, who had been in the Jenin Camp for a long period, had contacts with Hamas headquarters abroad and was even wounded when he tried to promote a car bombing attack. In addition, Jalamneh transferred weapons and ammunition to terrorists in order to promote shooting attacks, and planned a raid attack inspired by the October 7th massacre.Along with Jalamneh, two additional terrorists who hid inside the hospital were neutralized. Mohammed Ghazawi from the Jenin Camp, a terrorist operative of the Jenin Battalions who was involved in numerous attacks including firing at IDF soldiers in the area, and Basel Ghazawi from the Jenin Camp, Mohammed’s brother, an Islamic Jihad terrorist organization operative involved in terror activities in the area.Jalamneh planned to carry out a terror attack in the immediate future and used the hospital as a hiding place and therefore was neutralized. Israeli security forces will continue to act against any threat that would endanger the security of Israeli civilians.
Tuesday’s counter-terrorism operation once again highlights the widespread misuse of Palestinian hospitals for terrorist activities by Hamas and other jihadi groups.
“For a long time, wanted suspects have been hiding in hospitals and using them as a base for planning terrorist activities and carrying out terror attacks, while they assume that the exploitation of hospitals will serve as protection against counterterrorism activities of Israeli security forces,” the IDF said.
Meanwhile, the IDF is hitting terrorist targets in Gaza as the battle for the Hamas’s southern stronghold of Khan Yunis intensifies. Hamas’s leadership is believed to be hiding in the area, using Israeli hostages as human shields.
The Israeli broadcaster Arutz Sheva reported Tuesday:
Over the past few weeks, forces of the IDF’s 4th Brigade have operated in the Khan Yunis area.The forces eliminated terrorist operatives, conducted targeted raids on terrorist infrastructure and located large quantities of weapons.A machine used for the production of rockets, as well as rocket launchers aimed at Israeli territory, were located and destroyed.The soldiers used drones to collect real-time intelligence and carry out operations against terrorists.In one incident, drone operators identified a terrorist cell that was moving toward the troops. The forces directed an aircraft at the terrorists and killed them.
While Hamas leaders use captive Israelis as human shields, the Israeli military is doing everything possible to minimize casualties and protect Gaza’s civilians.
The Israeli military on Tuesday evening released the details of its operation aimed at flooding some of Hamas’s terror tunnels running underneath Gaza. Besides blowing them up, the IDF was funneling sea water into the underground tunnel systems wherever suitable.
The IDF announced on its Telegram account:
During the war, the IDF has implemented new capabilities to neutralize underground terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip by channeling large volumes of water into the tunnels
In cooperation between units in the IDF and the Ministry of Defense, various tools were developed to channel large volumes of water into Hamas’ terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip. This is part of a range of tools deployed by the IDF to neutralize the threat of Hamas’ subterranean network of tunnels.
These capabilities consist of installing pumps and pipes, the materialization of engineering developments, and the ability to locate tunnel shafts suitable for the deployment of these tools. The capability was developed professionally, including analysis of the soil characteristics and the water systems in the area to ensure that damage is not done to the area’s groundwater. The pumping of water was only carried out in suitable tunnel routes and locations, matching the operation method to each case.
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