The Israeli military launched a wave of raids across the occupied West Bank overnight and into Tuesday, killing at least three Palestinians it said were militants a day after a deadly shooting attack.
The army said it killed two militants in an airstrike after they fired at troops in the area of Tamun in the northern West Bank.
It said another militant was killed in “close-quarters combat” in the nearby village of Taluza and an Israeli soldier was severely wounded.
Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)
The military said it arrested more than 20 suspected militants.
Hamas said in a statement that one of its veteran commanders, Jaafar Dababsah, was killed by Israeli forces in the area of the two deadly raids.
It said the overnight operations were not related to Monday’s shooting in which gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis in the West Bank, killing two women in their 70s and a 35-year-old policeman before fleeing.
Palestinians have carried out scores of shooting, stabbing and car-ramming attacks against Israelis, especially during the past 15 months of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has launched near-nightly military raids across the West Bank that frequently trigger gunbattles with militants and have also killed civilians.