Israel says mission against Hamas 'not accomplished' as it expands West Bank offensive

By AFP - Mar 05,2025 - Last updated at Mar 05,2025

The house of a Palestinian man accused of an attack against Israelis in October 2024 in Jaffa, is blown up by Israeli security forces in Hebron, in the occupied west Bank on March 5, 2025 (AFP photo)

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM/JENIN – New Israeli armed forces chief Eyal Zamir said during his inauguration Wednesday that Israel's mission to defeat Palestinian group Hamas was "not accomplished".

"I accept command of the [Israeli military] with modesty and humility... Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished," Zamir said, amid deadlock in negotiations on next steps in a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

Speaking before Zamir at the ceremony at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that Israel is "determined" to achieve victory in the multi-front war that began with Hamas's October 2023 attack.

The Israeli military announced Tuesday it had expanded its weeks-long offensive in the occupied West Bank to more areas of Jenin city, saying troops killed three although Palestinian officials reported two dead.

On its 43rd day, Israeli forces "expanded the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria to additional areas in Jenin", the military said, using the Biblical name for that part of the West Bank.

It said that a local Hamas leader and another Palestinian militant were killed in an exchange of fire with troops during an overnight raid in Jenin.

Jenin governor Kamal Abu Al Rub told AFP that two Palestinians were killed during the raid in the eastern neighbourhood of the city.

"Two citizens were martyred, and many young men were arrested", he said.

The military said troops had arrested three Palestinian suspects.

The Palestinian health ministry identified one of the dead as Aser Saadi, matching the name of the Hamas leader in the Israeli army statement.

The health ministry said the 21-year-old's body was taken away by troops after he was shot.

The head of the Jenin government hospital, Wisam Baker, told AFP that a man identified as Jihad Alawneh was declared dead on arrival at the facility early on Tuesday.

Baker said that Alawneh, 25, had bled out after being shot in the thigh.

Governor Abu Al Rub said the raid had caused "devastation and massive destruction" in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood, "which has not experienced an Israeli assault like this before".

He said that the main electricity line was cut off, dozens of families were forced to leave, and army bulldozers had left behind a trail of damage.

'Massive destruction'

The Israeli offensive in the northern West Bank began on January 21 around refugee camps regarded as bastions of Palestinian militancy, but has since expanded to more areas, displaced tens of thousands of people and saw the first deployment of Israeli tanks in the territory in 20 years.

On Tuesday afternoon, an AFP journalist said Israeli troops and armoured personnel carriers were still in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood.

Firefighters worked to extinguish a fire in an apartment hit during the raid, its facade charred and some of its walls destroyed.

Pools of blood had accumulated in several rooms of the apartment, the journalist said.

Abu Al Rub said that "more than 50 families were forced to flee and evacuate their homes because the Israelis took over their houses and buildings, turning them into military barracks".

"All the streets in the eastern neighbourhood were bulldozed", said the governor, including areas that before Tuesday did not see army bulldozers ripping through roads in what the military says aims to clear explosives.

Bassem Hardan, a resident of the neighbourhood, told AFP that after initially ignoring army calls for his family to leave, "they called our neighbours and told them to get out within two minutes before they demolish the building".

Dubbed "Iron Wall" by the Israeli military, the operation in the northern West Bank began days after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops carry out regular raids there.

The ongoing operation has involved raids in multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas, where Palestinian armed groups have a strong presence.

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