Nine Palestinian militants were killed in two Israeli air strikes on the West Bank on Saturday, the Israeli military said, as violence flared again in the Israeli-occupied territory due to the war in Gaza and potentially fuelling regional tensions.
An Israeli delegation led by the Mossad chief made a brief visit to Cairo as talks on a Gaza ceasefire continued, an Egyptian official said. The United States has urged Israel to seize the opportunity for a ceasefire following the shock assassination of Hamas’ political leader in Iran, which Tehran blames on Israel.
There are fears of retaliation against Israel on either front or both in the region after the killing of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon and Israel vowing to take action by Iran and its allies following the assassination. With air activity in Lebanon decreasing, calls for people to leave Lebanon have intensified.
In the northern West Bank, the Israeli military said its troops on Saturday morning attacked a vehicle in a rural area outside the town of Tulkarm, killing five people. The army said they were on their way to attack. Hamas identified all five as militants from the group, including a local commander.
“We came to the scene and found a young man martyred on the street with half of his face missing,” said Taiser Abdullah, a resident of Zeita. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said four bodies were “burnt and charred beyond recognition.”
Later on Saturday, the Israeli military said it killed four other Palestinian militants shortly after they opened fire on Israeli troops in the Tulkarem area. No further information was immediately available.
More than 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza in October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most have been killed during Israeli raids and violent protests. Tulkaram is regularly raided by the Israeli military, and Palestinian militant groups including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are active there.
Concerns of a full-blown regional war have grown following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday morning and top Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut the evening before. Hamas said on Saturday its command was in discussions to choose a new leader.
Iran and its allies in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, vowed to retaliate against Israel, which said it killed Shukur but did not confirm or deny its role in Haniyeh’s death. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a short-range missile was behind the killing and accused the United States of supporting the attack.
The Pentagon said late Friday that the U.S. military would move a fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintain an aircraft carrier in the region. The U.S. embassy in Lebanon encouraged citizens who want to leave to “book any available tickets,” noting that several airlines have suspended or canceled flights. The British government called on its citizens in Lebanon to “leave now.”
President Joe Biden said Thursday he has urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take advantage of the opportunity for a ceasefire with Hamas, saying Haniyeh’s killing “did not help” efforts to negotiate an end to the war. Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas’ military and governance capabilities.
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea arrived in Cairo on Saturday afternoon, an Egyptian official said. The delegation also included Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet, the official said. The delegation was to meet Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, to discuss the Philadelphia Corridor and Rafah crossing points on the Egyptian border.
The Egyptian official said the delegation left Cairo a few hours later with nothing new to come out. The official has direct knowledge of the Gaza ceasefire talks and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. Netanyahu’s office said late Friday that he had ordered the negotiating delegation to leave for Cairo on Saturday or Sunday.
Egypt’s foreign minister held talks with his counterparts from Iran and Lebanon about the “dangerous” escalation in the region.
Protesters in various countries expressed support for Palestinians as the war in Gaza marked 300 days, while the death toll in the region neared 40,000.
At least 39,550 people have been killed in the nearly 10 months since Hamas’ brutal assault on Israel on October 7. This is according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. Israel has accused Hamas of infiltrating and endangering the civilian population.
Most of Gaza’s population of about 2.3 million people have been displaced, many multiple times, as the Israeli military retreats into areas where it says Hamas militants have regrouped. Health and sanitation services have largely collapsed across the territory, with hunger on the rise.
Families of those taken hostage on October 7 and others protested again in Israel on Saturday night, demanding a deal to end the war. “Most of the military goals have been achieved, there is no reason to continue this war,” said Naama Weinberg, a protester.