ZEITA, West Bank – Two Israeli airstrikes within the West Bank killed nine Palestinian militants on Saturday, the Israeli army said, as violence flared again within the Israeli-occupied territory and tensions rose over the War within the Gaza Strip and a possible regional escalation.
Talks on a ceasefire in Gaza continued, and an Israeli delegation led by the Mossad chief made a transient visit to Cairo, an Egyptian official said. The United States urged Israel to seize the chance for a post-shock ceasefire. Killing of Hamas political leader in Iran, for which Tehran blames Israel.
That killing, and Israel's killing of a Hezbollah commander in Lebanon, have left the region on tenterhooks in anticipation of retaliatory strikes against Israel on one or each fronts after Iran and its proxies announced moves. Hamas said its command had begun talks to elect a brand new leader.
In the northern West Bank, the Israeli army said its forces first attacked a vehicle in a rural area outside the town of Tulkarem early Saturday morning, killing the five occupants. The army said they were on their solution to perform an attack. Hamas identified all five as militant members of the group, including a neighborhood commander.
According to an Associated Press journalist and witnesses, the explosion occurred along a road connecting the Palestinian villages of Zeita and Qaffin.
“We arrived at the site and found a young man martyred here on the street with half of his face missing,” said Taiser Abdullah, a resident of Zeita. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said 4 bodies were “burned and charred beyond recognition.”
Later Saturday, the Israeli military said it had killed 4 more Palestinian militants within the Tulkarem area shortly after they opened fire on Israeli troops. Further information was not immediately available.
Since the war between Israel and Hamas within the Gaza Strip began in October, over 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire within the West Bank, in response to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most of them were killed in Israeli attacks and violent protests. Tulkarem is usually raided by Israeli forces and Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, are energetic there.
Concerns a few comprehensive regional war are high following the attacks in Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran early Wednesday and top Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut the evening before.
Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, vowed retaliation against Israel. Israel said it killed Shukur but neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in Haniyeh's death. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said He said the killing was carried out by a short-range missile and accused the USA of supporting the attack.
The Pentagon said late Friday, US military relocates fighter jet squadron to the Middle East and maintains an aircraft carrier within the region. The US embassy in Lebanon urged residents wishing to go away the country to “book any available ticket,” noting that several airlines had suspended or canceled flights. The British government urged its residents in Lebanon to “leave the country immediately.” Jordan did the identical.
President Joe Biden said Thursday he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the chance for a ceasefire with Hamas, adding that Haniyeh's killing “did not help” efforts to barter an end to the war. Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities.
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea arrived in Cairo at noon on Saturday, an Egyptian official said. The delegation, which also included Ronan Bar, head of Israel's Shin Bet intelligence agency, was scheduled to satisfy with Abbas Kamel, head of Egyptian intelligence, for talks on the Philadelphia Corridor along the border with Egypt and the Rafah border crossing, the official said.
The delegation left Cairo hours later and there was no news, said the Egyptian official, who has direct knowledge of the ceasefire talks within the Gaza Strip and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to transient reporters.
There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. Netanyahu's office said late Friday that he had instructed the negotiating delegation to go away for Cairo on Saturday or Sunday.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister spoke on the phone along with his counterparts in Iran and Lebanon concerning the “dangerous” escalation within the region.
As protesters in various countries mark the three hundredth anniversary of the war in Gaza and express their support for the Palestinians, the death toll within the Gaza Strip is approaching 40,000. At least 39,550 people have been killed within the nearly 10 months since Hamas' brutal onslaught. Attack on Israel on October 7This is in response to information from the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and fighters in its count. Israel accuses Hamas of embedding itself within the civilian population and endangering them.
In Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, witnesses told the AP on Saturday that an Israeli attack on a college killed an unknown number of individuals. The Israeli military said it hit a Hamas command center.
Families of hostages kidnapped on October 7 and others demonstrated again in Israel on Saturday night, demanding an agreement to finish the war. “Most of the military objectives have been achieved, there is no reason to continue this war,” said one protester, Naama Weinberg.
Jeffery reported from Ramallah within the West Bank. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.
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