Footage of the strike in Jenin
The IDF eliminated the terrorist Yasser Hanoun in Jenin on Wednesday in an airstrike, which according to Palestinian reports targeted the vehicle he was in. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that three other people were injured in the attack alongside Hanoun, with one in serious condition.
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The eliminated terrorist opened fire toward Kibbutz Meirav near the Gilboa region and Mevo Dotan near the West Bank several times in recent weeks. It’s also believed Hanoun was on his way to execute another attack, and It’s likely that other terrorists were with him.
Hanoun comes from a "terrorist family": being the brother of the terrorist Amar Hanoun, who was eliminated by the IDF in 2000, and is also the cousin of the two eliminated terrorists Wiam and Wissam Hanoun.
Last week, Hanoun published a post on Facebook which hinted he might’ve known he was being targeted. "We are nothing but a postponed funeral, so the soul should stand tall, perhaps we’ll leave soon," he wrote in Arabic.
It should be noted that targeted airstrikes in the West Bank were extremely rare prior to last year and in fact, had not occurred at all since the Second Intifada and Operation Defensive Shield. A change in the IDF’s policy was noted even before the start of the war in Gaza, and targeted airstrikes were carried out during the escalation recorded there last year.
Since the war, however, the use of airstrikes has increased dramatically: according to data released by the Israeli Air Force, over 30 such attacks have already been carried out in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war.
The IDF has been working more intensively to counter terrorism in the West Bank in recent months, and reports on arrests and operations throughout the region have been reported. Since the beginning of the war, about 3,200 wanted individuals have been arrested throughout the West Bank, including more than 1,350 suspects affiliated with Hamas.