Israeli Drone Strike Kills 5 in West Bank

An Israeli drone strike killed five people in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, as reported by the Palestinian press agency Wafa and other Palestinian sources. The Israeli military stated that the strike targeted a “terrorist cell” in the Tulkarem region.

The director of Thabet Thabet Hospital in Tulkarem confirmed that “five martyrs” were brought to the hospital following “an Israeli drone strike on a Palestinian vehicle near the village of Zeita in Tulkarem.”

Wafa reported that an Israeli military drone hit the vehicle with “two missiles,” causing it to catch fire and resulting in the deaths of five men.

A witness at the scene told AFP, “I live less than 50 meters (yards) from here. We came after hearing the explosion and saw a vehicle on fire on the road towards Zeita, north of Tulkarem. Next to it, we saw a body on the road. Inside the vehicle, there were three charred bodies, completely burnt,” added Nasser, who requested his last name not be published.

The Israeli military quickly sealed off the area, according to Wafa.

In a brief statement, the Israeli military said, “An IDF (military) aircraft struck a vehicle and terrorist cell operating within the area of Tulkarm,” without providing further details.

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that began last October in the Gaza Strip, violence has escalated in the West Bank.

According to an AFP tally based on figures from the Palestinian health ministry, at least 594 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since October 7. Official Israeli figures indicate that at least 17 Israelis, including soldiers, have been killed by Palestinian attacks in the West Bank during the same period.