Five Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on Tulkarm

Ramallah, Aug 3 (IANS) At least five Palestinians, including a Hamas commander, were killed in an Israeli raid on the town of Zeita, north of Tulkarm in the West Bank, Palestinian medical and security sources said Saturday.

"Out of the five victims, four bodies arrived charred, and their limbs torn apart, making it impossible to identify them," Amin Khader, director of Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarm, told Xinhua.

Only 25-year-old Haithan Bladi was identified, Khader said, adding that "now we are trying to identify the rest of the victims", Xinhua news agency reported.

A drone targeted a vehicle carrying the five Palestinians, killing them all, Palestinian security sources, who prefer to remain anonymous, told Xinhua, noting that Bladi was a commander in al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a brief statement on Saturday that an IDF aircraft struck a vehicle and "terrorist cell" operating in the area of Tulkarm.

Amid the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank also has been witnessing military tension between the Israeli army and the Palestinians. Since October 7, 2023, more than 590 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli army, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry.