Hamas commander killed during Israeli military raid in occupied West Bank

A commander of the Gaza-based Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas resistance movement, has been killed after Israeli military forces carried out a raid on the northwestern edge of the occupied West Bank.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported that Israeli forces surrounded a residential building in the al-Salam neighborhood of Tulkarm city early on Saturday morning.

The troops targeted an apartment with sustained gunfire and more than 20 explosive shells.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man as 29-year-old Islam Jameel Odeh.

The body of the young man was subsequently taken away by Israeli army soldiers.

Later, an Israeli military bulldozer started to demolish parts of the bombed apartment before troops withdrew from the area, amid clashes with local fighters.

The Israeli army stated that Odeh had taken over leadership of Hamas operations in Tulkarm after Zahi Oufi was killed in an Israeli air strike on October 3.

The Lebanese al-Mayadeen news television channel also reported that Odeh worked as a correspondent for the Beirut-based station.

‘Friday of Rage’ protests held across West Bank to condemn Israeli genocide

Palestinians have demonstrated across the occupied West Bank following a call by the residence movement Hamas to denounce the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 759 Palestinians, have been killed by Israeli army fires and illegal settler attacks in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the genocidal Gaza war on October 7, 2023.

The ministry statement said that over 6,500 have been wounded in the West Bank since last October.

Among the dead are 18 women and 165 children, the statement added.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 42,924 people have been killed and 100,833 others wounded since Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory began in October 2023.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Club has reported that Israeli forces have detained at least 15 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank between Friday and Saturday, including children and former prisoners.

The Prisoner’s Club said the arrests occurred across most governorates and involved extensive questioning of dozens of residents, particularly in the town of Anata, near al-Quds.

The raids were accompanied by physical assaults, threats against detainees and their families, and significant property damage.

Since October 7 last year, more than 11,400 Palestinians have been detained in the West Bank and al-Quds, according to the organization.

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