JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH:
Israel’s army said on Wednesday it had turned 30 percent of Gaza into a “security” buffer zone and struck around 1,200 “terror targets” since resuming its military offensive in the Palestinian territory on March 18.
“Approximately 30 percent of the Gaza Strip’s territory is now designated as an Operational Security Perimeter,” the military said in a statement, adding that Israeli air strikes had hit “approximately 1,200 terror targets” and that “more than 100 targeted eliminations have been carried out” since March 18.
Meawhile. Israel’s military said it had killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including one suspected of carrying out a deadly attack on Israelis in January.
On Wednesday morning, Israeli forces tried to arrest Muhammad Zakarneh in a cave near the West Bank town of Qabatiyah, the military said in a statement.
“During the operation, the forces encircled a cave in the area of Misilyah in which Zakarneh hid. The forces conducted exchanges of fire with him and two additional terrorists, in which shoulder-fired missiles were fired at the (Israeli) forces,” the military said.
Mohammed Hobari, a local resident who was working in the field near where the standoff took place, told AFP that the army “stormed the area and ordered us to stop working”.
“They besieged the area before starting to fire their weapons. They brought a bulldozer and it started digging and demolishing.”
During the gunfight, Israeli forces killed Zakarneh and Marouh Khuzaymia, the army statement said, adding that the two belonged to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group.
On Wednesday afternoon, army bulldozers worked to destroy the militants’ hiding place, leaving behind a pile of stones and rubble, an AFP journalist reported.
Khuzaymia “was released during the November 2023 hostage deal and was then wanted for his involvement in planning additional terrorist activities”, the army statement added.
Zakarneh’s father, Omar, told AFP: “He died just like many other young people. Hopefully God will accept him (in heaven).”
The military said that Zakarneh was one of three people who took part in a January 6 attack near the village of Al-Funduq, in which three Israelis were killed and six injured.
The night that followed the attack saw several instances of violent altercations with settlers in that part of the West Bank, including in the village of Hajja, whose mayor told AFP it had come under attack.
