Another Hamas commander was reportedly killed in an Israeli strike

An Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank killed a commander of the Palestinian armed group Hamas on Saturday, Hamas-linked media reported, while the Palestinian news agency WAFA said four other men were also killed. .

The identities of the others were not clear, according to the WAFA report, which cited health officials.

The Israeli military announced that it had carried out an airstrike against a militant cell around the West Bank town of Tulkarm. Hamas media reported that a vehicle carrying fighters was hit and that one of its Tulkarm brigade commanders was killed, Reuters reports. 

Violence in the West Bank was on the rise before the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on October 7 and has increased since then, with frequent Israeli attacks on the territory.

Tensions across the region have risen this week following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday, a day after top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr was said to have been killed in Beirut.

Hamas and Iran have accused Israel of carrying out the attack and have vowed to retaliate against their enemies. Israel has neither claimed nor denied responsibility for the killings.