Israel Army Says Killed Top Hamas Official in West Bank Strike  

Israel Army Says Killed Top Hamas Official in West Bank Strike  
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Israel Army Says Killed Top Hamas Official in West Bank Strike  

Israel Army Says Killed Top Hamas Official in West Bank Strike  

The Israeli army said it killed a top Palestinian militant in an air strike in the occupied West Bank early Wednesday, averting a "terrorist attack" he was planning.

Ahmed Abdullah Abu Shalal had been responsible for a "number of terrorist attacks" over the past year, including one in annexed east Jerusalem, the army said.

He was "eliminated in a precision air strike," it said in a statement that had a video link showing the strike on a vehicle.

An AFP correspondent saw a pile of debris and mangled remains of a car that was hit in the strike near the Balata camp in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Camp resident Sajed Hazeem said he was woken up by a loud explosion.

Minutes after the blast an ambulance arrived at the scene but its access to the car was blocked by Israeli troops who arrived at the same time, Hazeem said.

"The army pulled out the bodies and after about half an hour it withdrew," Hazeen told AFP, indicating that more than one individual had been killed in the strike.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said the body of an "unidentified martyr killed by the occupation (Israel) in a bombing of a vehicle" had been received by a hospital in Nablus.

The army said Abu Shalal was killed following intelligence "of his cell's intentions of carrying out an imminent terrorist attack".

The army did not offer details, but said he was responsible for carrying out a shooting in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood of east Jerusalem in April last year in which two residents were wounded.

Abu Shalal was also responsible for a bomb attack on Israeli troops in October in which one soldier was wounded. The army did not specify where the soldiers were targeted.

"Under Abdullah's leadership, the terrorist infrastructure in the Balata (refugee) camp in Nablus has received funding and guidance from Iranian sources," the army claimed.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on October 7, the West Bank has experienced a level of violence not seen since the second Palestinian uprising or intifada between 2000 and 2005.

Israeli army raids and attacks by settlers have killed around 350 people in the territory, according to an AFP tally based on sources from both sides.

Israel has occupied the West Bank, home to about three million Palestinians, since the Six-Day War of 1967.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is home to around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.



Sudan Lashes Out at Kenya's 'Hostile' Support for Rival Govt

Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
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Sudan Lashes Out at Kenya's 'Hostile' Support for Rival Govt

Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)
Sudanese attend a protest in support of the army in the eastern city of Gedaref on February 22, 2025. (AFP)

Sudan's army-aligned administration lashed out Monday at what it called Kenya's "irresponsible and hostile" support for efforts by Khartoum's paramilitary rivals to form a parallel government.

Since April 2023, army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, once allies, have been locked in a power struggle that has dragged the country into war.

Late Saturday, the RSF and a coalition of political and armed groups signed in Nairobi a charter that would pave the way for a "peace and unity" government in rebel-held areas, with Kenya's foreign minister later saying the proposed administration would restore "democratic governance" in Sudan.

Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the "dangerous precedent" on Monday, saying that "in a grave threat to regional security and peace, the Kenyan leadership has adopted the parallel government that the genocidal militia and its followers intend to declare in some of the remaining pockets under their control".

The government, it added, would take "the necessary steps to respond to this irresponsible and hostile behavior".

Those steps appeared to be taking shape Monday, with foreign ministry undersecretary Hussein Al-Amin Al-Fadil telling a press conference in Port Sudan that "measures against Kenya are escalating, and there are arrangements for economic measures, including a ban on importing Kenyan products".

He also said Sudan was in the process of withdrawing its ambassador from Nairobi and would file a complaint against Kenya through regional and international channels.

Among the signatories of the charter was a faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, which controls parts of the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The United Nations warned that the signing of the charter would "increase the fragmentation" of the war-torn country.

But in a post on X on Sunday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi called the charter "a peace agreement", describing the proposed administration as a "a unity government" that would restore "peace, stability, and democratic governance in Sudan".

In its statement, Khartoum accused Nairobi of creating a "false facade for the militia to directly obtain weapons", while "relieving regional sponsors of some embarrassment".

The foreign ministry said that this "would expand the scope of war and prolong its duration" and warned of potential damage to bilateral ties with Kenya.

Fadil said Monday that Kenyan President William Ruto "has known personal interests with the militia leader and its sponsors, and is betting on losing cards".

Saturday's signing of the charter comes as the army and its allied factions are making advances against the RSF in the capital Khartoum and in central Sudan.

The war in Sudan, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, erupted after a rift emerged between Burhan and Daglo over the future structure of the government.

The war has triggered the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis.

Both warring sides face accusations of committing grave atrocities against civilians, with their leaders sanctioned by the US.