Two Hamas “senior officials” killed in Israeli drone strike in Jenin, West Bank

MADRID, (EUROPA PRESS) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced late on Saturday the death of two “senior officials” of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as a result of an action carried out together with Israeli Intelligence against the West Bank city of Jenin.

“In a joint operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet, an aircraft attacked a Menashe Brigade vehicle from the air in Jenin, killing two senior Hamas officials,” the Israeli military said in a post on social media late Saturday.

In the same statement, the IDF identified the deceased “terrorists” as Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafat Doasi. The former was allegedly “involved in the production of explosives for terrorist purposes” and had also participated “in other attacks.”

The second victim was described by the Israeli army as “a senior member of Hamas’s military infrastructure in the region.”

“The two emerged in the Shin Bet investigation into Yassin Hanam, who was arrested by the Shin Bet and the IDF, as being involved in planning the attack that took place on August 11, 2024 in the Jordan Valley, in which the late Jonathan Deutsch was killed,” the Israeli forces added.

The Islamic Resistance Movement itself later confirmed that the two Palestinians killed in this IDF drone strike were “a commander in the group’s local wing” and “a high-ranking operative.”

“Both were involved in planning and carrying out a series of attacks, including a deadly roadside bombing in Jenin on June 27, another bomb attack targeting Defense Ministry workers at the West Bank security barrier on July 23, as well as a deadly terrorist shooting in the Jordan Valley on Sunday,” Hamas reported in the Times of Israel.

Earlier, Wafa reported that two people had been killed in an Israeli drone strike on Jenin on Saturday.

The drone targeted a civilian vehicle that was traveling in the city center and caught fire after the attack, according to the Palestinian news agency.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health later confirmed that two bodies killed in the attack had arrived at the Palestinian Public Hospital.

Initially, the Israeli armed forces acknowledged an attack against “a terrorist squad” in the Jenin area, although they did not provide further details.