The Israeli military announced Friday that it has ended its major, month-long operation in the southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, killing more than 250 militants during the mission.
The tunnels used by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which totaled more than 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) in length, were destroyed during the operation and the bodies of six hostages were recovered, the Israeli military (IDF) said.
Residents of some neighborhoods in southern Gaza who had previously been asked to flee were allowed to return, an army spokesman said.
The neighborhoods are now part of an area designated as a humanitarian safe zone, and some of those who have returned to Khan Younis have begun searching for missing relatives, the IDF said.
According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 40,000 people have been killed and more than 98,000 wounded in Gaza in the past 10 months of war.
The war in Gaza was sparked by the worst massacre in Israel’s history, which left more than 1,200 dead. The massacre was carried out on October 7 by Hamas militants and other Palestinian extremist groups.
Israeli military says Hamas leader and others killed in West Bank
The Israeli military said Friday it killed the Hamas leader responsible for the city of Jenin during a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank.
“Wassem Hazem, the head of Hamas in Jenin, was eliminated during an anti-terror operation in the northern Samaria area (the West Bank). He was identified next to a terrorist cell in a vehicle in the area,” the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency and the Israel Police said on Platform X.
“Hazem was involved in conducting and directing shootings and bombings, and continuously carried out terrorist activities in the Judea and Samaria area,” the report said, citing the names Israel uses to refer to the West Bank. The vehicle also contained two other Hamas members, the report said.
The troops allegedly killed them in an aircraft attack as they tried to flee the vehicle. Weapons and explosives were found in the car, the report said.
The Ministry of Health in Ramallah confirmed three deaths.
The Israeli military said on Friday that it has killed 20 Palestinian militants in gun battles and airstrikes since the start of a large-scale military operation on Wednesday targeting areas near Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas in the occupied West Bank.
In addition, 17 suspects linked to terrorist activities were arrested, the report said. The operation also led to the destruction of dozens of explosive devices and the seizure of numerous weapons, the IDF said.
An Israeli army spokesman said the operation was aimed at dismantling terrorist cells linked to the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to Palestinian sources, the dead also included civilians, as well as several members of the military wing of Hamas and other extremist groups.
The information from both Israeli and Palestinian sources could not initially be independently verified.
The situation in the West Bank has deteriorated significantly since the start of the war in Gaza. According to the health authority in Ramallah, 643 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, confrontations or their own attacks.
WHO prepares for mass polio vaccination campaign in Gaza
Preparations are underway to launch a large-scale polio vaccination campaign for children in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after all sides agreed to a limited ceasefire.
The warring parties have made a “provisional commitment to what we call area-based humanitarian pauses,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
In total, 640,000 children under 10 years of age must be vaccinated. Two doses, four weeks apart, are needed for full vaccination.
Nearly 400 vaccination centres have been set up, nearly 300 mobile teams are on the road and some 2,200 volunteers have been trained to administer the vaccine.
The WHO aims to vaccinate more than 90% of children with the campaign. This coverage is necessary to prevent the virus from spreading.
Polio is a contagious infectious disease that can cause permanent paralysis and death, especially in young children. There is currently no cure.
