Israeli special forces clash with Palestinian militants in Nablus
Palestinian terrorists involved in a deadly attack that claimed the lives of a British-Israeli mother and two of her daughters were killed in an Israeli raid on the West Bank city of Nablus Thursday morning.
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Some 200 Israeli special forces entered the city and surrounded a building in which several suspects were reportedly barricading themselves. Troops came under heavy fire and stone-throwing in the ensuing clash with Palestinian militants.
During the raid, troops deployed the so-called "pressure cooker" tactic, which included dropping a stun grenade off a drone at the building where the suspects were holed up in an attempt to flush them out.
The Palestinians reported that at least three people were killed in the raid, including Hassan Katnani and Ma'ed al-Masri — two Hamas operatives who carried out the deadly shooting in the West Bank's northern Jordan Valley in which Lucy Dee and daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were murdered last month. The third casualty was identified as Ibrahim Hura who aided Katnani and al-Masri. Israeli troops seized M16 assault rifles and AK47s found in the hideout.
On April 7, the Dee sisters from the settlement of Efrat were murdered in a shooting attack in the Jordan Valley. Their mother Lucy was mortally wounded and succumbed to her injuries in a Jerusalem hospital three days later.
Terrorists who were traveling in the opposite lane to the road where the family members were traveling opened fire at them in the area of Hamra Junction on Route 57.
The family attempted to escape, but the terrorists made a U-turn and chased after them. The Dee family's car, which was en route to a holiday trip, veered off into a ditch.
At this point, one of the terrorists positioned himself outside the vehicle and shot at the family's car. Twenty-two AK-47 bullet shells were found at the scene, and the sisters were pronounced dead on the spot.
Police reported that during the raid, a 7-year-old K9 police dog named Django was killed while protecting troops, having prevented harm to soldiers with his body. Django had participated in hundreds of IDF activities including counterterror operations and aiding in the arrest of wanted individuals.
Rabbi Leo Dee spoke to Ynet after the raid and expressed relief that the killers of his wife and daughters were no longer able to harm anyone else.
"The world will be able to sleep better when these terrorists are no longer alive. I am very happy to hear that no soldier or civilian was hurt or affected in the event. It is a mission that only the IDF and the Shin Bet can do," he said.
"We are proud to live in a country where security forces are so precise and skilled, and we are very grateful to the army and forces for assassinating the terrorists."
The father added that he would like to speak with the families of the terrorists. "I would like to ask them what their relatives wanted to achieve with this murder? What will this do to their children, what did they hope to accomplish?"
Israeli-Palestinian tensions have escalated after more than 100 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel in response to the death of Khader Adnan, an Islamic Jihad member who had been on a hunger strike for 86 days in Israeli prison.
Despite the heightened tensions, a summit is set to take place in Egypt's Sinai region with the participation of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, the United States, and the Palestinian Authority. The summit aims to address security concerns and work towards deescalating the situation.
First published: 09:46, 05.04.23