An Israeli soldier died after being shot by a member of the Hamas group near a settlement in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, a day after Israeli troops carried out their largest military offensive in the region. According to the army, the attacker was later shot and killed by Israeli forces.
The Hamas group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a “natural reaction” to the Israeli military’s military operation in the Jenin refugee camp, which claimed the lives of 12 Palestinians. The attacker was identified as 19-year-old Ahmed-Yassin Ghaidan, the AP reports.
The group said, “The enemy will know that his massacre in Jenin has increased our people’s resistance and stubbornness to follow his vision until liberation.”
The attacker targeted the settlement of Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. According to the Israeli army, he opened fire on the forces when they stopped his vehicle for inspection. He was later chased down and shot dead.
The dead Israeli soldier was identified as Staff Sergeant Shilo Yosef Amir.
This comes a day after Israeli forces withdrew from the Jenin camp in the West Bank. Israel said the operation was carried out to destroy and confiscate weapons from the camp housing several Palestinians. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 12 Palestinians were killed and many others were injured.
The Israeli army used military bulldozers to demolish the Jenin camp, causing thousands of residents to flee the camp and damaging roads and buildings. The Israeli army said it had seized thousands of weapons, cash reserves and bomb-making materials.
The shooting incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of the Israeli operation and could lead to calls from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for more military incursions.
Violence in the occupied West Bank has worsened over the past year. More than 140 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in 2023, while 25 Israelis have been killed in retaliatory attacks.
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