A commander of the Palestinian armed group Hamas was killed in an Israeli air strike on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Hamas media reported, while Palestinian news agency WAFA said four others were also killed.
The identities of the others were unclear, WAFA reported, citing health officials.
The Israeli military said it had carried out an airstrike against a terror cell around the West Bank town of Tulkarum. Hamas media said a vehicle carrying fighters was attacked and a commander of its Tulkarum brigade was killed.
Violence in the West Bank was on the rise before the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began on October 7 and has escalated since, with Israeli attacks continuing in the region, which is one of the areas where Palestinians want a state.
Regionwide tensions have escalated this week following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, while an Israeli strike in Beirut a day earlier killed senior Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.
Haniyeh’s death is one of a series of assassinations of senior Hamas figures as the war between Palestinian groups and Israel in Gaza nears its 11th month and concerns grow that the conflict is spreading across the Middle East.
Both Hamas and Iran have blamed Israel for the killing and have vowed to retaliate against their enemy. Israel has neither taken responsibility for the killing nor denied it.
Like Hamas, Hezbollah is also supported by Iran and has also vowed revenge.
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