South Front
quadron 161 (“The Black Snake”) marks its reopening as the only “Zik” Squadron (Hermes 450) in the UAV, absorbing all the “Zik” aircraft from Squadron 166 (“Firebirds”). Taken on 6 December 2020 by Amit Agronov. Source: the Israeli Defense Forces.
Late on June 21, an Israeli drone strike killed three Palestinian fighters in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, marking the first such aerial attack on the occupied region since 2006.
In a joint statement, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet security agency said that the strike targeted fighters who had just opened fire at Jalameh Checkpoint, north of Jenin. In response to the shooting attack, a drone carried out a strike on their vehicle.
The fighters were also responsible for a number of recent shooting attacks in the area, the IDF and Shin Bet added, including toward towns beyond the West Bank security barrier.
IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters that the deadly strike was carried out by an Elbit Hermes 450 drone, operated by the Artillery Corps.
The three Palestinian fighters killed in the drone strike were identified as Suhaib al-Ghoul, 27, Muhammad Awais, 28, and Ashraf a-Saadi, 17. Al-Ghoul was a commander in the local wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, known as the Jenin Battalion, and a-Saadi was a fighter of the faction. Meanwhile, Awais was reportedly a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a coalition of armed factions loosely affiliated with the Palestinian Authority’s ruling Fatah party.
(Left to right) Suhaib al-Ghoul, 27, Muhammad Awais, 28, and Ashraf a-Saadi, 17, Palestinian gunmen killed in an IDF drone strike near the West Bank city of Jenin, June 22, 2023. (The Times of Israel)
Israeli security forces quickly reached the strike scene, where they seized the bodies of the Palestinian fighters as well as three damaged rifles which were found in their vehicle.
Weapons found in a car struck by an Israeli drone near the northern West Bank city of Jenin, June 21, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Islamic Jihad vowed in a statement that it will respond to the strike, while the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades said that it will continue its attacks.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant praised the drone strike on Twitter, stressing that the IDF will use all means against what he called “terrorists.”
“We will take an offensive and proactive approach to combat terrorism, we will use all the means at our disposal and we will exact the heaviest price from every terrorist or terrorist emissary,” the minister said.
The drone strike came just two days after a force from the IDF was ambushed by Palestinian fighters while operating in Jenin. During the battle, Palestinian fighters targeted an Israeli armored vehicle with a heavy improvised explosive device, while Israeli attack helicopters launched their first ever strikes on the West Bank in some two decades. Eight Israeli soldiers were wounded and seven Palestinians, including four civilians, were killed in the clashes.
Overall, the situation in the West Bank remains tense. Calls for a large-scale operation against Palestinian factions in the region are increasing in Tel Aviv.
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