Guwahati News Desk: At least five Hamas militants killed during raids by the Israeli army in the West Bank on Sunday.
The incidents occurred in the early hours of Sunday, that marked the most serious confrontations between Israel and Hamas in the West Bank in months and further threatened to raise tensions in the territory and along the Israeli border with Gaza.
According to the Israeli army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Amnon Shefler, the Israeli forces were involved in a joint operation with the Shin Bet internal security agency. However, the Israel Border Police came under fire while carrying out arrests in the West Bank.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett, said that the Israeli forces had mounted an operation against Hamas militants, who were about to carry out attacks.
The Palestinian Health Ministry informed that two Palestinians were shot dead near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, and three others were killed in Biddu, north of Jerusalem. However, the ministry did not specify whether they belonged to Hamas or not.
In addition, the Israeli military informed that an officer and a soldier suffered serious injuries during the arrest in Burqin, near Jenin, but were eventually airlifted to a hospital for medical treatment.
Moreover, the Israeli officials have long voiced concern that Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, intends to gain strength in the West Bank and challenge its rival there, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), heightening security risks for Israel.
Photo | Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images