The Israeli army killed three Palestinians on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency. The Israeli army stated that it detected a cell inside a suspicious vehicle after it fired near the town of Jalama, and that an Israeli drone opened fire on the cell and hit it. Hatem Qassem, a spokesperson for the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), noted that this operation "will not go without a response and punishment," indicating that the Israeli army's use of drones for assassination operations represents a serious escalation.
Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, mourned two of its leaders killed in the assassination, as well as a third member, who are:
- Field commander Suhaib Adnan al-Ghul (27 years old), commander of one of the Jenin Battalion formations - Saraya al-Quds.
- Muhammad Bashar Awais (28 years old), one of the leaders of the Martyrs of Al-Aqsa brigades.
- Ashraf Murad al-Saadi (17 years old), a member of Saraya al-Quds.
In a statement, they said, "The assassinations will not diminish our resolve, and the enemy's leadership must bear punishment after their foolish decision to target a group of our fighters using their drones and holding the bodies of our Mujahideen."
Hours earlier, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages in the West Bank in response to the killing of four Israelis by gunmen who opened fire on them at a roadside restaurant near the settlement of Eli. In the town of Turmus Ayya, inhabited by wealthy Palestinians near Ramallah, footage showed burning cars as black smoke rose, with people carrying an injured person to an ambulance.
Numan Shalabi, a resident of Turmus Ayya, said, "The settlers came in their dozens, no less than 200 or 250. They entered the yard of the house, set cars on fire, shot live ammunition and stones at the windows, and broke the balconies." Residents from several other Palestinian towns reported attacks from settlers, with Reuters quoting the head of the Eastern Lebanon village council, Yacoub Awais, saying that a large group of settlers launched an attack, "burning a gas station, orchards, a cement factory, and dozens of cars while Israeli security forces, including soldiers and police, stood without intervening." He added, "The attack was unprecedented and abnormal. There was heavy gunfire, but we did not know if it was from settlers or soldiers because it was at night."
Meanwhile, the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a large-scale military operation throughout the West Bank. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a member of one of the far-right parties in Netanyahu’s coalition, called for stricter measures. He said before the Knesset, "We need a military operation; buildings must be leveled. Targeted killings are required."
