Israeli military kills four in drone attack in occupied West Bank

The Israeli military has killed one Palestinian in a dawn raid in the occupied West Bank city of Tubas before launching an air attack on the nearby town of Tammun that killed four people.

The army entered Tubas at dawn on Wednesday and raided the home of Fayez Fawaz Abu Amer, shooting and killing the man, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it launched a “counterterrorism operation”, during which it “eliminated one terrorist” and “hit others during an exchange of fire”.

It said its troops had “arrested wanted suspects and located and confiscated weapons”.

Reporting from Tubas, Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim said the confrontations later extended to Tammun, southeast of Tubas, where a drone struck a group of men and killed four of them.

“The governor of Tubas said the Israeli forces took the bodies with them, which is part of Israel’s policy of withholding the bodies of Palestinians it deems responsible for attacks,” Ibrahim said.

Footage shared on a Palestinian social media account, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency Sanad, appeared to show Israeli troops dragging one of the bodies on the road before slinging it into the back of a military vehicle.

The Israeli army said it had “carried out air strikes on several armed terrorists” in the city.

Clashes were also taking place on the ground, Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim said, as shots and loud explosions could be heard in the area. The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian group Hamas, said in a statement it was fighting Israeli forces.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said it was being prevented from reaching the location as the military had blocked roads.

Ibrahim said the raids follow a recent shooting that killed one person near the illegal Israeli settlement of Mahola in the Jordan Valley.

“Israeli forces have carried out raids in several Palestinian villages following the shooting,” Ibrahim said.

Drone attacks in the occupied West Bank have become increasingly common in recent months. Israeli forces backed by drone attacks killed 11 Palestinians in clashes around Jenin earlier this month. Drones have also been used to target Palestinians in the Nur Shams refugee camp, next to the city of Tulkarem.

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