According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, a 16-year-old Palestinian and a 32-year-old Palestinian were killed in the operation alongside Nablusi. At least 40 people were injured by gunfire. Nablus hospitals reported 69 injuries. Four of them were in mortal danger. A 17-year-old died of his injuries in Hebron. Israeli soldiers had already shot at him. The Israeli military said it responded to violent disturbances. There was a blow.
Regarding the house search in Nablus, the Israeli military said: “Terrorist Ibrahim al-Nabulsi was killed in the city of Nablus.” “Another terrorist who was in the house” also died. Israeli security forces said they fired a rocket into the house. Four suspects were arrested accordingly.
Nabulsi was commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party in the West Bank. He is said to have been involved in several attacks on Israel. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Rafidia hospital in Nablus, where Nabulsi’s body was taken, on Tuesday, a correspondent for the AFP news agency reported. Al-Aqsa Brigades issued a statement threatening retaliation. Fatah called for trade strikes in several cities in protest. Stores remained closed in many places and events were cancelled.
Israeli army and Palestinians fired at each other in the old town of Nablus. Amid the clashes, the Israeli army stopped traffic in Nablus, one of the largest cities in the West Bank. There were also clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians in other parts of the city. According to the Israeli army, Palestinians threw rocks and explosives at Israeli soldiers. There were “some wounded”, but the Israeli soldiers remained unharmed and left Nablus.
In recent months, there have been almost daily Israeli army operations in the West Bank. The army specifically targeted fighters from the Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad. At least 57 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since late March.
On Friday, the Israeli army bombed Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian sources, 46 people were killed, including 16 children, and another 360 were injured.
Israel and Islamic Jihad agreed to a ceasefire on Sunday, brokered by Egypt. However, Israel reserved the right to “respond resolutely” in the event of a ceasefire violation. Islamic Jihad also declared its readiness to respond to “any aggression”. According to Portal, the ceasefire has been maintained so far.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid described the military operation in the Gaza Strip on Monday as a success against the Islamic Jihad leadership. According to the organization, twelve of its members were killed, including commanders Tayseer al-Jaabari and Khaled Mansour.
According to a senior Islamic Jihad figure, the ceasefire agreement brokered by Egypt includes the release of two Palestinian fighters from Israeli custody.
The UN Security Council in New York discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip in an emergency session on Monday (local time) after the violence of recent days. UN Special Envoy for the Middle East Tor Wennesland, who was connected via video, warned on Monday that the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian militant Islamic Jihad organization was “fragile”. A new outbreak of violence would have “devastating” consequences.
Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebensia said the Security Council was “deeply concerned” by the situation. There is a risk of “a full-scale military confrontation and further deterioration of the already dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip”.
About two million people live in the Gaza Strip in very precarious conditions. The Palestinian organization Hamas, also classified by the EU as a terrorist organization, violently seized power in 2007. Israel then reinforced the blockade of the area, backed by Egypt. Both countries justify the measure with security interests.