Jerusalem: Hamas said that one of its commanders in the occupied West Bank was killed in a clash with Israeli forces, while Israel said four soldiers were killed in an explosion in Rafah.
In a statement released late Monday, Hamas said Mohammed Jaber Abdo was killed along with three other fighters in a village near Ramallah, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority is headquartered.
A joint statement by the Israeli army and police earlier on Monday said undercover forces had tracked down a suspect wanted in an attack on a nearby Jewish settlement.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, which was ignited by Hamas’ October 7 attack into southern Israel.
Over 530 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since then, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most were killed during violent protests or Israeli arrest raids, which often trigger gunbattles.
Israeli media, citing unnamed security officials, reported that four soldiers were killed Monday when explosives they were using to clear the building were triggered prematurely, causing it to collapse, killing four soldiers and wounding 11. Hamas said that it had booby trapped the building and attacked the soldiers with mortars after the explosion.
On Tuesday, the UN human rights office said both Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups may have committed war crimes in connection with a deadly raid by Israeli forces that freed four hostages and killed at least 274 Palestinians over the weekend.
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 36,730 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Palestinians are facing widespread hunger because the war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and other supplies. UN agencies say over 1 million in Gaza could experience the highest level of starvation by mid-July.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ October 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
