GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, has praised Thursday’s armed operation near the Beit Lid junction, adjacent to the Kfar Yona settlement west of Tulkarem, in which nine Israeli soldiers were wounded, calling it a “heroic operation” and a natural response to the Israeli occupation’s escalating crimes.
In a press statement, Hamas said the resistance operation was a direct reaction to ongoing violations by Israeli occupation forces (IOF), including the desecration of Islamic and Christian holy sites, the ongoing genocide and starvation campaign in Gaza, and the deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
The statement also mourned the martyrdom of four Palestinian youths in the past 48 hours, including 15-year-old Ahmed Ashira and 17-year-old Muhammad Issa, who were shot dead by IOF troops on Wednesday evening in the town of Al-Khader, south of Bethlehem.
“This operation reaffirms that the flame of resistance in the occupied West Bank will not be extinguished,” Hamas said, warning that continued Israeli aggression would not bring security to the occupying state but would instead be met with “painful blows.”
Hamas further called for an escalation of resistance across the West Bank and urged Palestinians to confront the occupation’s plans aimed at annexing Palestinian land and displacing its people. The Movement reiterated that resistance remains the only viable option to confront Israeli crimes across all fronts.
Since the start of the Israeli war of genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, attacks by both IOF and settlers have sharply increased in the West Bank. According to Palestinian sources, at least 1,005 Palestinians have been martyred and around 7,000 others injured during this period.
