Israeli strike kills three in West Bank

JENIN, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES:

Israel's military said it carried out an airstrike in the West Bank on Friday that killed a Palestinian it described as a Hamas militant operative as well as two of his accomplices, in a rare use of deadly Israeli air power in the occupied territory.

Hamas condemned the strike but did not claim the person targeted - whom the Israeli military named as Qais Bitawi - as a member. The strike targeted a car in the area of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the military and medics said.

Islamic Jihad said in

a statement Bitawi was a senior operative of its armed wing.

The West Bank has seen a surge in militant Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians as well as military raids into Palestinian towns. The northern West Bank, where Jenin sits, was the site of a major Israeli assault last year, which the military says was aimed at targeting militant strongholds.

In a statement, the military said Bitawi was involved in directing, funding and executing attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces. It said he maintained ties with Hamas members in Gaza, where the group is based, as well as abroad.