An Israeli strike killed a Hamas operative and two of his accomplices in the West Bank yesterday, the military said, in a rare use of deadly air power in the occupied territory.
Hamas confirmed the man that Israel named as Qais Bitawi was one of its members and condemned the attack that killed him. The allied Islamic Jihad fighter group also claimed him as a member.
The air strike targeted a car in the area of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military and medics said.
The West Bank has seen a surge in fighter Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians as well as military raids into Palestinian towns. The northern West Bank, where Jenin sits, was the site of a major Israeli assault last year, which the military says was aimed at targeting Palestinian fighter strongholds.
In a statement, the military said Bitawi was involved in directing, funding and executing attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces.
The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said Israeli ground troops raided the site of the drone strike, briefly detained medics and prevented them from transporting those wounded or killed to hospital.
In Gaza, at least five Palestinians were killed in three Israeli strikes yesterday, Gaza health officials said.
Those incidents included an Israeli strike near Deir Al Balah that killed three people from the same family; a strike on a motorbike that killed one in Gaza City; and a separate strike in Gaza City that killed one Palestinian.
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