Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades mourns the death of five fighters killed in an Israeli airstrike while they traveled in a vehicle inside the West Bank city of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/GiBoFBH2xR
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) January 17, 2024
| Update from the Times of Israel at 1:15pm ET: |
Military says squad leader targeted in Balata camp received financing and instructions from Iran; soldier seriously wounded; another strike carried out in Tulkarem
Members of a cell headed by a top terror leader in the West Bank who were planning a "large imminent attack" were killed in a dronezap overnight, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security agency said Wednesday.
Five Paleostinians were reported killed in the
...KABOOM!...
, and another five were killed in a separate strike hours later during festivities between IDF troops and button men in the West Bank.
The IDF and Shin Bet identified the cell leader as as Abdullah Abu Shalal, calling him the head of "one of the main terror networks" in the West Bank.
A joint statement said Abu Shalal and the other members of the cell were targeted in the strike near the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, following intelligence about their intention to carry out a major attack imminently.
The attack was believed by the IDF and Shin Bet to have been intended to be carried out in an Israeli city.
The statement said Abu Shalal had received financing and instructions from Iran, as well as terror groups in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
and overseas.
The Paleostinian Authority health ministry said four other people were killed in the strike. The other members of the cell were not immediately identified.
The military said Abu Shalal was responsible for a string of recent attacks, including a shooting attack last April in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in which two Israelis were maimed, and the planting of a bomb in October that maimed a soldier.
The military said that after the strike on the terror cell, weapons were found in the car in which they were traveling. Images published by the IDF showed a machine gun, two handguns, magazines, and several bombs.
Hours after the strike in Balata, the IDF said it carried out another airstrike, against a group of Paleostinian button men in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, amid a counter-terrorism operation.
The IDF said the suspects were shooting and hurling bombs at troops operating in Tulkarem. One reservist was seriously maimed by the gunfire, it said.
The Paleostinian Authority health ministry said five people were killed in the Tulkarem strike. Images on social media showed a number of maimed or killed Paleostinians next to a heavily damaged vehicle that was apparently hit.
The IDF said that in the Tulkarem operation, dozens of suspects had been questioned, seven were arrested, and engineering vehicles uncovered bombs hidden under the roads.
It said the raid was still ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon.
Related:
Nablus: 2024-01-16 Good Morning
Nablus: 2024-01-09 Police: 3 Palestinian gunmen killed during West Bank arrest raid
Nablus: 2024-01-08 East Jerusalem man killed in West Bank terror shooting
Nablus: 2024-01-16 Good Morning
Nablus: 2024-01-09 Police: 3 Palestinian gunmen killed during West Bank arrest raid
Nablus: 2024-01-08 East Jerusalem man killed in West Bank terror shooting
Related:
Balata refugee camp: 2023-11-20 IDF says it carried out two major raids in West Bank
Balata refugee camp: 2023-11-18 Israel kills five in West Bank, arrests brother of tunnel attack terrorist
Balata refugee camp: 2023-10-06 5 officers hurt, including 3 seriously, in West Bank clashes with Palestinian gunmen
Balata refugee camp: 2023-11-20 IDF says it carried out two major raids in West Bank
Balata refugee camp: 2023-11-18 Israel kills five in West Bank, arrests brother of tunnel attack terrorist
Balata refugee camp: 2023-10-06 5 officers hurt, including 3 seriously, in West Bank clashes with Palestinian gunmen