The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Tuesday reported the elimination of the head of a Palestinian Hamas cell, Aysar al-Saadi, in the West Bank.
The IDF said in a statement that last night, Israeli army, Israel Border Police forces expanded a counter-terrorism operation in the area of northern Samaria (West Bank), touching other areas of Jenin city.
Al-Saadi, who had survived multiple assassination attempts, was targeted amid intense armed clashes between Palestinian fighters and Israeli forces in Jenin, according to the militant group.
Israeli fire kills two in Gaza amid ceasefire impasse
Israeli fire killed at least two people in Rafah and wounded three others in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, sparking Palestinian fears that the truce could end completely after Israel imposed a full blockade on the devastated enclave.
The first phase of a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants from the Hamas group, which began in January, ended at the weekend without an agreement on what comes next.
Hamas said an agreed second phase should now begin, leading to a final Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war.
Instead, Israel has offered a temporary delay until April, with Hamas to release more hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but with no immediate talks on the future of Gaza.
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said Israel’s demand for an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire returns the situation to “ground zero.”
Residents said Israeli tanks stationed near Gaza’s eastern and southern borders intensified their shelling of the outskirts overnight. A Palestinian official from a Hamas-linked group told Reuters that a state of alert had been declared among militants.
New casualties in Rafah
At least two people were killed by Israeli drone fire in Rafah and three people were wounded by a helicopter shelling Khan Younis, medics said. The Israeli military said in a statement that its forces fired at a motorboat in the coastal area of Khan Younis, violating security restrictions in the area and posing a threat.
The military said that in another incident in southern Gaza, its forces discovered two suspects moving towards them and posing a threat. Israeli forces “opened fire on the suspects to eliminate the threat and identified the casualties,” it said.
Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and displaced much of the population, according to local health officials.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Fifty-nine hostages are believed to remain in Gaza.
