Israeli strikes kill five people in occupied West Bank

An Israeli airstrike targeted a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, killing a Hamas commander on Saturday, according to Hamas media.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that four other men were also killed, though their identities remain unclear, citing health officials.

The Israeli military confirmed the airstrike, stating it targeted a militant cell near Tulkarm.

Palestinian official news agency WAFA, citing Amin Khader, Director of Thabet Thabet Government Hospital in Tulkarm, reported that five bodies arrived at the hospital on Saturday morning.

The bodies were burned and charred beyond recognition, except for one identified as 25-year-old Yaytham Nuriddin Bleidi from Tulkarm refugee camp, according to PressTV.

Locals said an Israeli military drone targeted the car with two missiles, killing the five young men and setting the vehicle on fire.

Following the drone strike, Israeli forces cordoned off the area, preventing residents from approaching, but paramedics and locals managed to retrieve the bodies and take them to the hospital.

Palestinian media reported that Haitham Balidi, a leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades in Tulkarm, was among those killed in the drone strike.

Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in early October 2023, casualties in the West Bank have increased due to intensified Israeli raids. Over 570 Palestinians, including 141 children, have been killed in the West Bank, and nearly 10,000 Palestinians have been detained.

The latest violence comes amidst Israel's  onslaught on Gaza that has killed more than 39,480 Palestinians, majority of them women and children, during the the past ten months.