An airstrike on Thursday in Tulkarm, a city in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, killed at least 18 people, according to the Palestinian Health Authority. The Israeli military said the strike had been aimed at the local head of Hamas and his associates.
The use of a warplane there was highly unusual. Israel has more commonly employed airborne drones in attacks on the West Bank since Oct. 7 — in parallel to its war with Hamas in Gaza. The intensity of the airstrike was reflected in the reported death toll, which was steep for a single Israeli military operation in the West Bank.
The Israeli military said in a statement early Thursday that it had killed the head of Hamas in Tulkarm, Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, “alongside additional terrorists.” It said he had planned and led multiple “significant” shooting attacks and car bombings on Israeli civilians in the West Bank and had supplied weapons to other operatives who also carried out attacks on Israelis.
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The Israeli airstrike was aimed at a popular cafe in Tulkarm, according to Wafa news agency, killing a family in an adjacent house and children and older people in the neighborhood.
Tulkarm has been the focus of recent Israeli military raids in the West Bank, which have destroyed the city’s infrastructure and businesses.
Suleiman Zuhairi, a former Palestinian deputy minister who lives on the outskirts of Tulkarm, said Israel had not carried out such a bombardment in the West Bank for years, if not decades.
“The blast was terrifying,” he said. “My house trembled from the shock wave,” he continued, though it was a distance from the reported blast site.
Mr.Zuhairi said that with Israel’s assault on Lebanon drawing international attention, and its continuing war in Gaza doing so to a lesser extent, Israel was operating with a free hand to escalate its campaign in the West Bank.
Aaron Boxerman reported from Jerusalem and Ephrat Livni from New York.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporting fellow with a focus on international news. More about Aaron Boxerman
Ephrat Livni is a reporter for The Times’s DealBook newsletter, based in Washington. More about Ephrat Livni
