Israeli Army Says it Has Killed 5 More Palestinians in West Bank

Members of a Palestinian family fleeing an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, walk past Red Crescent ambulances stationed outside the camp on August 28, 2024. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Members of a Palestinian family fleeing an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, walk past Red Crescent ambulances stationed outside the camp on August 28, 2024. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Army Says it Has Killed 5 More Palestinians in West Bank

Members of a Palestinian family fleeing an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, walk past Red Crescent ambulances stationed outside the camp on August 28, 2024. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)
Members of a Palestinian family fleeing an Israeli raid in the Nur Shams camp near the city of Tulkarem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, walk past Red Crescent ambulances stationed outside the camp on August 28, 2024. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP)

The Israeli military said Thursday it has killed five more Palestinian fighters in a large-scale operation in the occupied West Bank, including a well-known local commander.
There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation of the death of Mohammed Jaber, known as Abu Shujaa, a commander in the Islamic Jihad in the Nur Shams refugee camp.
The military said he was killed along with four other fighters in a shootout with Israeli forces early Thursday after the five had hidden inside a mosque. It said Abu Shujaa was linked to numerous attacks on Israelis, including a deadly shooting in June, and was planning more.
He was reported killed earlier this year, but then made a surprise appearance at the funeral of other militants, where he was hoisted onto the shoulders of a cheering crowd.
The military said another militant was arrested in the operation in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, and that a member of Israel's paramilitary Border Police was lightly wounded.
Israel launched a large-scale operation in the West Bank overnight into Wednesday. Hamas said 10 of its fighters were killed in different locations, and the Palestinian Health Ministry reported an 11th casualty, without saying whether he was a fighter or a civilian.
Violence has surged in the West Bank since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there.



Trump Opposes Israeli Annexation of West Bank

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
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Trump Opposes Israeli Annexation of West Bank

President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump waves to the media as he walks on the South Lawn upon his arrival to the White House, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

A White House official on Monday reiterated US President Donald Trump's opposition toward Israel annexing the West Bank.

"A stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration’s goal to achieve peace in the region," the official said.

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

Saudi Arabia and seven other Muslim countries on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements on the occupied Palestinian territory.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Palestinian Authority (PA).


Sudan Returns to East African Bloc After Two Years

A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
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Sudan Returns to East African Bloc After Two Years

A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)
A displaced Sudanese woman carries plastic water containers at the Abu al-Naga displacement camp in the in Gedaref State, some 420km east of the capital Khartoum on February 6, 2026. (AFP)

Sudan on Monday announced it was returning to east African bloc IGAD, two years after freezing its membership over a decision to invite rival paramilitary chief Mohamed Hamdan Daglo to a summit.

"The government of the Republic of Sudan will resume its full activity in the membership" in the Djibouti-based Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Sudan had suspended its membership in January 2024 after the bloc invited the head of rival paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to a summit in Uganda to discuss the country's brutal conflict.

The RSF has been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023 in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands, displaced 11 million and caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The foreign ministry cited a statement by IGAD which reaffirmed "its full recognition of Sudan's sovereignty and the unity of its lands and people" and pledged "non-interference in member states' internal affairs".

The decision to rejoin IGAD follows a meeting in January between the bloc's executive secretary, Workneh Gebeyehu, and Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris.

Following the meeting, the bloc issued a statement saying it "condemns all forms of violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces and reaffirms its full support for the unity and sovereignty of the Republic of the Sudan, as well as its existing national institutions".

The nearly three-year conflict has effectively split Sudan between army-controlled areas in the north, east and center, and those controlled by the paramilitaries in the west and parts of the south.

The RSF has also formed a rival parallel administration in Nyala, the South Darfur state capital, but it has received no international recognition.

IGAD on Monday welcomed Sudan's decision to return, describing it as "a reaffirmation of regional solidarity and collective commitment to peace, stability, and cooperation across the region".


EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.