Israel-Palestine conflict: IDF claims to have killed Hamas commander in Jenin Wassem Hazem

The Israeli Defense Forces has claimed to have killed Hamas’ commander in Jenin Wassem Hazem while conducting a counterterrorism operation in the northern Samaria area.

“Wassem Hazem, the head of Hamas in Jenin, was eliminated during a counterterrorism operation in the northern Samaria area. He was identified alongside a terrorist cell in a vehicle in the area,” IDF posted on X.

“Hazem was involved in carrying out and directing shooting and bombing attacks, and continuously advanced terrorist activities in the Judea and Samaria area,” the Israeli security forces said.

“Shortly afterward, an IDF aircraft eliminated 2 additional Hamas terrorists who attempted to flee from the vehicle that they were inside with Wassem Hazem. Maysara Masharqa and Arafat Amer operated under the command of Wassem Hazem and took part in shooting attacks against Israeli communities,” IDF said.

IDF said M16 rifles, a handgun, cartridges, explosives, gas grenades, and thousands of shekels were recovered in the vehicle and from the possession of the slain Hamas members.

Meanwhile, UN aid teams have reached a tentative agreement with parties involved in the war in Gaza for humanitarian pauses to allow 640,000 children to be vaccinated amid an outbreak of the virus, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, said that the two-round vaccination campaign is due to begin this Sunday in central Gaza for three days, then move to the southern and northern areas. A second dose will be administered after four weeks.

“During each round of the campaign, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the WHO, [the UN Children’s Fund] UNICEF, UNRWA [the UN agency for Palestine refugees] and partners, will provide two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under 10 years of age,” Dr. Peeperkorn said.

West Bank operation continues

Amid a fourth day of Israeli military operations in the West Bank, humanitarians voiced concerns about the safety of civilians and aid teams.

Raids by the Israeli Security Forces (ISF) in densely populated Jenin and Tulkarem have reportedly killed at least 15 people. “Unimpeded accessibility of facilities is crucial for reaching and receiving care, but also to deliver health aid. We call on the infrastructure, ambulances, health workers around hospitals, health facilities to be protected,” stressed Dr. Peeperkorn.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the escalation late Wednesday, calling for an “immediate cessation” of Israeli operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Since the start of the war, 652 Palestinians have also been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 150 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. More than 5,400 people have been injured.