The raid came after the Israeli military said it was expanding an operation to suppress militants in the city of Jenin.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its forces killed a Hamas military commander in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in a series of raids that have forced tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee their homes.
Israeli soldiers killed Aisar al-Saadi, the head of the local Hamas militant group, in a shootout, the Israeli military said in a statement. The raid came as Israeli forces “expanded the counterterrorism operation” in the northern West Bank “to additional areas in Jenin,” the military said.
Hamas mourned Mr al-Saadi’s death, describing him as the commander of its armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. It is unclear how far his killing will go to pacify the militants: the Israeli military said late last year that its forces had killed one of his predecessors, Wasim Hazem, only to see the groups continue to exist.
In late January, Israel launched a major operation against Palestinian militants, storming neighborhoods in towns such as Jenin and Tulkarm. Some 40,000 Palestinians fled their homes, often to nearby towns and villages where they had been sheltering for weeks, in the largest wave of displacement in the territory in decades, according to the United Nations.
The Israeli military has said it has no plans to force out the Palestinians. But Israel Katz, Israel's defense minister, said last month that he had ordered the military not to allow those who fled to return home. Mr. Katz said the Israeli military was preparing to remain in the areas it had captured for at least several months.
Israeli leaders have said the campaign is aimed at Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas, which have gained strength in recent years as the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers to govern the West Bank, has largely left the fight to Israel.
After Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, sparked the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli military leaders feared another front could open in the occupied West Bank, prompting them to step up their crackdown on militant groups. Palestinian Authority forces also launched their own operation in January, albeit with limited success.
But the raids have also further embittered ordinary Palestinians, who are enduring the deadliest years in living memory in the occupied West Bank. More than 800 Palestinians, including hundreds of civilians, have been killed in the territory since the October 7 attacks, according to the United Nations.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and the Gaza Strip. He lives in Jerusalem. More about Aaron Boxerman
For more information, see: Hamas, Israel-Hamas war
