JENIN, West Bank. Israel launched an airstrike on Saturday in Jenin, located in the occupied West Bank, killing two senior Hamas militants. The strike targeted their vehicle, with Israeli authorities claiming the militants were involved in the recent killing of an Israeli citizen.
The Israel Security Agency and the Israel Defense Forces identified the militants as Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafet Dawasi, both from the northern district of the West Bank around Jenin. The Israeli statement highlighted their involvement in planning a shooting attack last week in the Jordan Valley, where an Israeli man, Yonatan Deutsch, was killed.
Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed the deaths of the two fighters, mourning their loss in a statement: “We mourn the deaths of our two fighters in an Israeli airstrike on their vehicle in Jenin.”
The attack marks a significant escalation in violence in the West Bank, which has seen increased Israeli raids, Jewish settler violence, and Palestinian street attacks since the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October. On August 11, Palestinian gunmen reportedly opened fire on a main road in the occupied West Bank, resulting in one death and another injury.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that their West Bank-based fighters killed an Israeli soldier near the settlement of Mehola in the Jordan Valley in retaliation for an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City. The strike, according to Gaza’s civil defense service, killed at least 90 people.
The violence in the West Bank continues amid efforts to end the conflict. A new round of talks aimed at resolving the 10-month-long war in Gaza is scheduled to resume next week in Doha. However, the ongoing clashes in the West Bank and Gaza raise concerns about a potential spillover into a broader regional conflict, involving Iran and its regional proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
