General strike in West Bank after killing of Hamas deputy in Beirut
Following the killing of top Hamas leader in Lebanon, schools, universities, banks, restaurants and government offices in the West Bank were closed on Wednesday due to a general strike.
The Israeli army was also continuing its raid on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm city in the north-western West Bank.
Demonstrations and confrontations with Israel's army in the Palestinian territory were called for Wednesday afternoon according to Israeli media reports. The military reportedly carried out raids in several locations there overnight.
The deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, Saleh al-Aruri, was killed in an explosion in Lebanon's capital Beirut on Tuesday evening. This makes him the highest-ranking Hamas leader to have been deliberately killed during the Gaza war.
Suspicions quickly arose that this could be a targeted killing - possibly by Israel's army or on Israel's behalf. Israel's military did not comment on the reports when asked. Following the suspected drone strike, Palestinians protested on Tuesday evening in Al-Aruri's home village of Arura, north of Ramallah, as well as in Ramallah itself.
Al-Aruri's mother and sister told the Qatar-based TV channel Al Jazeera that they had been expecting his killing for a long time.
During a raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the West Bank, the army said it had arrested six wanted Palestinians and questioned dozens more. Terrorists had hurled explosive devices at the soldiers, the army said. It responded with a drone attack.
The operation was still ongoing on Wednesday afternoon. Soldiers detained four wanted suspects in Kalkia. According to Palestinian reports, three people were injured by gunfire there. The army also confiscated military equipment in both locations, it added.
It was initially unclear whether the military operations were connected to the killing of al-Aruri. The army regularly carries out raids in the West Bank, even more so since the start of the Gaza war following the Hamas massacre on October 7.
According to Israeli security forces, 2,570 suspects have been arrested there since then, 1,300 of whom have links to Hamas.
