The Al-Quds Brigades said its fighters targeted a Zionist infantry force in al-Dhahiriya, south of al-Khalil, while Hamas praised the operation as escalating resistance.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, announced on Sunday that its fighters in al-Khalil had targeted an ‘Israeli’ infantry force storming the town of al-Dhahiriya, south of al-Khalil.
In a statement, the group claimed its fighters fired “heavy barrages of direct gunfire” at the targeted force, asserting that casualties had been inflicted. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported attack.
In response, the Hamas movement praised the operation, stating that it reflects the continued escalation of resistance activities in the West Bank despite ongoing ‘Israeli’ security measures.
In a statement released, Hamas commended the resistance fighters who conducted the operation and all fighters confronting ‘Israeli’ incursions into West Bank cities, towns, and refugee camps. The movement asserted that the operation comes as a direct response to Israeli military campaigns in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and occupied East al-Quds.
Hamas further asserted that such operations are part of confronting the occupation’s policies and schemes in the West Bank, calling on Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied al-Quds to intensify various forms of resistance against Zionist forces.
Rising violence across West Bank
The West Bank has witnessed a notable increase in shooting attacks, armed clashes, ramming attacks, and stabbings carried out by resistance fighters against Israeli soldiers, in response to the repeated and escalating Israeli raids in the Palestinian territory.
In a related development, ‘Israeli’ occupation forces launched a large-scale campaign of raids and arrests across the West Bank and occupied East al-Quds early June 14. The operations included aggressive home invasions, searches, and ransacking of properties. The raids are part of a marked and ongoing escalation by ‘Israeli’ forces against Palestinian towns and cities.
The West Bank has also seen a rise in attacks by ‘Israeli’ settlers and the military on Palestinian agricultural lands, including burning, land leveling, and preventing farmers from accessing their fields.
Zionist forces carried out widespread detention raids across the West Bank and occupied East al-Quds on Sunday, detaining a Palestinian man and his four sons in the Dahiyat al-Salam suburb of Anata, east of occupied East al-Quds, according to local sources.
Two other youths were also detained in the same area during extensive search operations.
In the Jenin governorate, forces detained a woman and her son during a raid on the German Quarter neighborhood, local sources reported. Simultaneously, troops raided the village of Siris, south of Jenin city.
In the Ariha governorate, former detainee Loay al-Najjar was detained after forces stormed and searched his family home in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp, south of Ariha. Separately, a young man was detained following a raid on his home in the Al-Jalazone refugee camp, north of Ramallah.
In the town of Dhahiriya, south of al-Khalil, the raid was accompanied by heavy live fire, toxic gas, and tear gas directed at residents, alongside extensive searches and ransacking of homes. The Al-Quds Brigades had earlier claimed a shooting attack targeting ‘Israeli’ infantry forces in the same area on Sunday.