Medical sources inform Al Jazeera that Haitham Balidi, a pacesetter of Hamas’s army wing in Nablus, was killed in an air assault on a automobile within the occupied West Financial institution.
At the least 5 folks, together with a neighborhood commander of Hamas’s army wing, have been killed in an Israeli air strike on a automobile in Tulkarem within the occupied West Financial institution.
Medical sources confirmed to Al Jazeera on Saturday that one of many folks killed was Haitham Balidi, chief of the Qassam Brigades within the Nablus space. One other individual was recognized by a relative as one of many leaders of al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
The identities of the opposite folks weren’t instantly clear. Members of the family went to a hospital in Tulkarem to determine the dismembered our bodies introduced there.
The Israeli army stated the automobile contained a “terrorist squad,” with out additional elaborating. Air assaults within the occupied Palestinian territory have surged for the reason that begin of the battle in Gaza on October 7, with authorities recording a minimum of 29 strikes which killed greater than 80 Palestinians.
The assault happened because the Israeli military raided a number of cities throughout the West Financial institution.
In Tulkarem metropolis, Israeli bulldozers destroyed infrastructure, whereas in Nablus Israeli troopers rounded up three Palestinians, together with a journalist. Different incursions had been reported in Jenin, Faqqa, Deir Abu Daif, Bethlehem and close to Ramallah. In occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli forces as soon as once more arrested activist Ramzi Abbasi after he had been launched final November.
Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed a minimum of 600 Palestinians within the West Financial institution, together with 144 kids.
In the meantime, floor Israeli raids and mass arrests within the West Financial institution have additionally ballooned over the identical interval, turning into a virtually each day prevalence.
The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society watchdog says greater than 9,300 folks have ended up in Israeli prisons. Of those, a minimum of 3,400 are in so-called administrative detention, a controversial follow that enables Israel to carry suspects for prolonged durations with out having dedicated an offence.
Israeli incursion in cities and cities throughout the occupied West Financial institution can be inflicting main disruption for civilian life. The UNRWA company for Palestinian refugees stated on Friday that the scenario within the West Financial institution is worsening each day in what it described as a “silent battle” amid water shortages and electrical energy outages.
Since 1967, the West Financial institution has been underneath Israeli occupation. In a landmark, but non-binding ruling, the Worldwide Court docket of Justice final month declared Israel’s continued presence illegal.
