Israeli strikes target Jenin, claims killing alleged commander

The Israeli military carried out an airstrike in the northern occupied West Bank, claiming that it had targeted "terrorists".

"A short while ago, the [Israeli army] conducted a precise strike against several terrorists in the Jenin area. Details to follow," the military said in a brief statement.

The air strike targeted a car in the area of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military and medics said.

The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, however, said in a statement that Bitawi and the two others killed were its fighters.

It described Bitawi as "one of the most prominent leaders of the Al-Quds Brigades in the West Bank".

In a statement, Hamas denounced the "massacre perpetrated by the occupation forces through an airstrike" on Jenin, adding that the attack "will be met only with further anger and confrontation".

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.

Israel's military did not immediately provide comment on the ambulance service's statements.

The West Bank, home to the Palestinian Authority, has seen soaring violence by Israeli settlers, who have rampaged through Palestinian communities, often under the protection of soldiers.

Military raids on Palestinian towns in the West Bank are common, but Israeli strikes have been rare since the start of 2025.

In early 2025, the military launched a wide-ranging assault targeting refugee camps in the northern West Bank.

In February of that year, it deployed tanks in Jenin, which is known as a hub of Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.

The large-scale assault has caused the displacement of nearly 40,000 people from the camps, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

At least 1,100 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war in October 2023, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority data.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The Oslo Accords in the 1990s granted limited self-rule to the Palestinian Authority, whose ruling Fatah movement is a rival to Hamas.