BICOM Background Briefing: IDF completes West Bank operation via BICom

IDF completes West Bank operation 

What happened: On Thursday afternoon, the IDF and the Shin Bet completed a 30 hour counter terrorism operation in the Northern West Bank and Jordan Valley.

• The aim was to prevent terror attacks, expose terror infrastructure, and eliminate armed terrorists.
• During the operation, IDF soldiers used a drone to locate an explosives laboratory and operations centre embedded inside a mosque in the area. Weapons, explosive devices and additional military equipment were also located inside the mosque.
• 12 terrorists were eliminated, more than 10 wanted suspects were apprehended, dozens of explosive devices were dismantled, and weapons confiscated.
• One of the terrorists eliminated was Mohammed Jabber, also known as ‘Abu Shujaa’, the Commander of the Tulkarem Brigade, a terrorist group allied to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
• Jaber was the head of a terrorist network in Nur Shams, a Palestinian refugee camp in Tulkarem. Additionally, he was involved in carrying out numerous attacks, including a shooting attack in Western Samaria in June, in which 66 years old Israeli civilian, Amnon Muchtar, was murdered.

Gaza: On Thursday, missiles were launched from the area of Khan Yunis toward the area of Kissufim. In response, IDF artillery and IAF aircraft struck the location of the launch.

• During operational activity in Rafah, the IDF reported killing dozens of terrorists, including Osama Jadallah, a commander in the Islamic Jihad’s intelligence unit who took part in the October 7th Massacre.
• The IAF struck approximately 40 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including manned launch posts, military structures and terror infrastructure.
• On Wednesday the IDF and Shin Bet rescued a soldier who killed on October 7th and his body taken to Gaza. At the request of his family, his name will not be published.
• The IDF confirmed an attack on armed terrorists who tried to hijack the the American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) humanitarian aid convoy in Southern Rafah. The aid organisation claims those killed were transport company staff.
• Israel continues to deliver tens of thousands of polio shots to Gaza. Working with international medical charities and facilitated by sustained pauses in military action, a mass vaccination programme has begun – ensuring 500,000 children receive the vaccination.
• According to The World Health Organisation (WHO), Israel and Hamas agree to limited fighting pauses in Gaza to allow urgent polio vaccinations.

Hezbollah – Lebanon and Syria: The IAF struck Hezbollah military structures in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.

• A forest fire broke out near Kibbutz Hanita in the Western Galilee, yesterday, following rockets that crossed Lebanese territory and exploded in the area. The firefighters managed to get the fires under control and no danger was caused to the Kibbutz.
• A short while ago, IAF fighter jets struck a number of Hezbollah rocket launcher sites in southern Lebanon that continue to pose a threat to Israel.
• Several missiles were fired toward Israel; most were intercepted. One fell in an open area in Migdal Tefen. No injuries were reported.
• On Wednesday, the IAF struck and eliminated Faris Qasim, a significant operative in Islamic Jihad’s Operations Division, in the area of the Syrian-Lebanese border.
• Qasim was responsible for the development of Islamic Jihad's operational plans in Syria and Lebanon. He had a central role in the recruitment of Palestinian terrorists into Hezbollah, and was responsible for carrying out attacks from Lebanon against Israel.

Context: In parallel to the counter terrorism operation in the West Bank, hostage release/ceasefire talks continued this week in Cairo and Doha.

• Channel 12 News reports that Defence Minister Gallant showed the security cabinet members a document according to which, Israel has reached a "strategic juncture" and must choose between agreeing to a hostage deal versus not agreeing.
•  Gallant explained the situation as follows: “at the very least, a hostage deal will not only return hostages, it will also make it possible to reach an arrangement in the north, it will avert a regional war and moderate Iran's intentions to carry out a revenge attack against Israel. On the other hand, not reaching a deal will mean risking imminent devolvement into a multi-theater war and that the hostages will remain in captivity”
• The increased IDF focus on the West Bank comes after Israel has seen a spike in attacks emanating from there, especially the northern areas, in recent months.
• In a statement posted to Telegram on Thursday following Jaber’s death, Palestinian Islamic Jihad threatened to ‘increase our people’s steadfastness, resilience and determination to continue’.
• Jaber’s death was also the main story posted on Hamas’s social media yesterday, titled: ‘Hamas mourns commander Abu Shujja, says Israeli aggression will not break the resistance’.
• An Israeli security official said “There is significant public pressure on these terrorists, especially after seeing the recent military operations. Since Wednesday, they began reaching out and have started to surrender.” The security official estimated around 15 terrorists have surrendered so far.
• British Prime Minister Starmer and French President Macron met at the Elysée Palace on Thursday’s morning. The leaders stressed “the importance of pursing a political solution that creates an irreversible pathway to a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, which can provide lasting security for both Israelis and Palestinians”.
• With speculation of a new peace summit, dozens of hostage families gathered on the Israel Gaza border.  The hostages have been held for 328 days.
• As of yesterday, COGAT along with partners at the WHO and UNICEF facilitated the delivery of cooling equipment into Gaza, along with 25,100 vials of the specialised polio vaccine. Ensuring enough vaccine for 1,255,000 people.
• According to COGAT, yesterday between 10:00-14:00, the IDF paused operations in the Salah A Din Neighborhood in Deir al- Balah to enable the movement of humanitarian aid.
• As well as 216 trucks carrying humanitarian goods were transferred to Gaza yesterday. 165 via Kerem Shalom and 51 via the Erez Crossing. Trucks carried food and medical equipment, including supplies for the logistic operation of the polio vaccination campaign. 
• The security cabinet voted overwhelmingly to back Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position in favour of maintaining Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal still being negotiated. Israel believes that retaining control would prevent the resupply and rearming of Hamas through smuggling and terror tunnels.

Looking ahead: It is expected that a humanitarian ceasefire agreement will be implemented to allow polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.

• According to Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s senior official for the Palestinian territories, the vaccination campaign is due to start on Sunday. The agreement was for the pauses to take place between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m..
• However, Netanyahu's office clarified that Israel “will not implement a humanitarian ceasefire across all of Gaza, but only in specific locations’, designated sites for vaccinating children in Gaza.”
• Netanyahu’s office emphasised that the pause is not related to the longer-term ceasefire proposal currently under discussion in Doha.