An Israeli Air Force aircraft struck a terror squad near the Palestinian Authority city of Jenin early Sunday.
The air strike was carried out against a four-man terror cell traveling in a vehicle in the village of Zik, south of Jenin, according to Arab media.
All four terrorists were killed in the strike, the IDF said Sunday night, adding the terrorist cell had carried out several shooting attacks against communities in the Gilboa area.
The head of the cell who was eliminated in the strike, was Wael Lahluh, a 31-year-old resident of Qabatiya. Lahluh carried out the shooting attack at the Mehola junction on August 11th, 2024 – an attack in which Yonatan Deutsch was killed and another Israeli civilian was injured. After carrying out the attack, Lahluh continued to operate in Jenin, recruiting terrorists and planning to carry out additional terror attacks in the near future, the IDF said.
Immediately after the strike, IDF soldiers conducted a targeted raid in the area and located three weapons on the bodies of the terrorists. Moreover, additional weapons parts, military vests, and explosive materials were located.
“The security forces will continue to operate to thwart every threat against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the IDF pledged.
Overnight, Israeli troops were deployed to measure the home of Samir Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, a Hamas terrorist who attacked an Israeli public bus on Friday near the city of Ariel.
Hussein’s home in the Palestinian Authority village of Einabus, near Shechem, was mapped out in preparation for possible future demolition, the IDF said.
It is standard Israeli policy to demolish the homes of terrorists who attempt to murder Israelis, or succeed in doing so, following a legal process which enables the terrorist’s family to appeal the order.
