An Israeli air strike in the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm killed at least 18 people late Thursday, including a senior Hamas figure, Palestinian and Israeli officials reported.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the death toll, while the Palestinian Authority-run news agency Wafa said the strike hit a cafe in the Tulkarm refugee camp where many civilians were present.
Israel’s military said the air force conducted the strike jointly with the Shin Bet security service, killing the head of Hamas in Tulkarm and “other significant terrorists.” The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the Hamas leader as Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi, alleging he had attempted a car bombing last month and supplied weapons.
“This operation targeted key Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank,” an IDF spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity as per military protocol.
A Tulkarm resident told AFP the strike “hit a cafeteria in a three-story building,” adding that the death toll could rise.
The incident marks a significant escalation in the West Bank, where violence has spiked since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Over 700 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since then, as Israeli forces intensified raids to counter Palestinian attacks.
UN rights chief Volker Turk recently stated that Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank were occurring “at a scale not witnessed in the last two decades.”
This air strike, using jets rather than the more common drones or helicopters, represents a notable shift in Israeli tactics in the West Bank.
