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Israeli Airstrikes Kill Nine Palestinian Militants in Tulkarm, Including Hamas Commander

Aug 3, 2024, 11:59 AM

Israeli aircraft carried out two airstrikes in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of nine Palestinian militants. The first strike targeted a vehicle near Tulkarm, killing five individuals, including Haythem Balidi, a leader of Hamas's military wing, the Izz a-Din al-Qassam Brigades. The second strike, also in the Tulkarm area, killed four more gunmen who had been firing at Israeli troops. The Israeli military stated that the strikes were part of counterterrorism operations aimed at eliminating terrorist cells, including members of Hamas’s Tulkarm battalion and Islamic Jihad fighters. The attacks have heightened tensions in the region, already strained by ongoing violence and the broader conflict involving Gaza.