Israeli army claims it assassinated a Hamas leader in Jenin

By Anadolu staff

The Israeli army claimed on Friday it assassinated a Hamas leader in the northern occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the army said that its forces targeted a vehicle killing Wassem Hazem, the “leader of Hamas network” in Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.

It added that its forces also killed two more Palestinians, Misbah al-Masharka and Arafat Amr, who were on board the vehicle.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas on the Israeli claims.

The Israeli army on Friday continued its military offensive in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp in the northern West Bank for the third consecutive day.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army launched the largest military offensive since 2002 in the cities of Tulkarm and Jenin, as well as in the Al Fara refugee camp near Tubas, killing 16 Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 670 Palestinians have since been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara