Israel says commandos kill 3 militants in West Bank hospital raid (Update 2)

Israeli authorities said that commandos disguised as Palestinians killed three gunmen on Tuesday in a hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, one of whom they accused of planning an imminent attack.

Hamas claimed one of the dead in Ibn Sina hospital as its member. The allied faction Islamic Jihad claimed the other two, saying they were brothers. Ibn Sina said one of the brothers had been receiving treatment for an injury that paralysed his legs.

Israel’s border police said the three Palestinians were killed in an operation by the force’s undercover unit.

CCTV circulated online appeared to show around a dozen undercover troops, including three in women’s garb and two dressed as medical staff, pacing through a hospital corridor with rifles. Israel’s police minister reposted the clip on X.

The military identified one of the men as Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, from Jenin, who it said had contacts with Hamas headquarters abroad and was planning “a raid attack inspired by the October 7th massacre”.

Hamas launched a surprise raid into southern Israel on Oct. 7 which triggered Israel’s assault on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip and sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, another territory where Palestinians seek statehood.

The other two Palestinians killed in Ibn Sina had been involved in recent attacks, the military statement said.

“Jalamneh planned to carry out a terror attack in the immediate future and used the hospital as a hiding place and therefore was neutralised,” the statement said.

Israel has long accused Hamas of using Gaza’s hospitals to hide men and weapons in underground tunnels and using Palestinians as human shields. Hamas rejects the charge.

“This is another example of the cynical use of civilian areas and hospitals as shelters and human shields by terrorist organisations,” the Israeli military said.

Beneath Gaza’s cities lies a vast network of tunnels built by Hamas, which extend for hundreds of kilometres (miles) into almost every area of the now shattered enclave.

Some entrance shafts are hidden among what remains of the city’s multi-storey buildings, ravaged by Israeli air strikes. Others are concealed in sandy dunes or in private homes.

AIR STRIKES ON GAZA CITY

On Monday, Israel launched an assault on the Hamas-ruled enclave’s biggest city. Residents of Gaza City said air strikes killed and wounded many people, while tanks shelled eastern areas and naval vessels fired at western beachfront areas.

Hamas on Monday fired its first volley of rockets for weeks into Israeli cities, proving it still had the capability to launch them after nearly four months of war.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday that Israel killed 215 Palestinians and wounded 300 others in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.

Israel said late last year it had largely completed operations in northern Gaza and has recently aimed the brunt of its might at southern Gaza. But the renewed push in Gaza City, where residents reported fierce gun battles near the main Al-Shifa Hospital, suggested that the war was not going to plan.

The Gaza health ministry said on Tuesday that 26,637 Palestinians have been killed and at least 65,000 others wounded by Israeli military strikes since then.

Israel says its forces have killed around 9,000 Palestinian combatants in Gaza, and that 221 of its soldiers have died in the fighting.

Hamas reiterated on Monday that Israel must halt its Gaza offensive and withdraw from the enclave before more hostages are freed. Israel says it will fight until Hamas is eradicated.

DEADLY STRIKE ON US FORCES

The United States vowed to take “all necessary actions” to defend American forces after a drone attack killed three U.S. troops in Jordan on Sunday.

Qatar said it hoped U.S. retaliation would not damage regional security or undercut progress toward a new Gaza hostage-release deal.

Sunday’s attack by Iran-backed militants was the first deadly strike against U.S. troops since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October and marks a major escalation in tensions that have engulfed the Middle East.

White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday the United States did not want a wider war with Iran or in the region, “but we got to do what we have to do.”

Iran has denied any role. Biden has previously ordered retaliatory attacks on Iran-backed groups but has so far stopped short of hitting Iran directly.