WEST BANK (Agencies): In a covert operation, Israeli forces, disguised as civilians and medical staff, neutralized three Palestinians at the Ibn Sina Hospital in the city of Jenin, located in the occupied West Bank. The operation was carried out by undercover agents while the men were asleep in the hospital, as reported by both the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Israeli army on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Health in Ramallah stated, “This morning, three young men were neutralized by the Israeli forces who stormed the Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin.” The Israeli army confirmed that their troops had neutralized the men, who were hiding in the hospital and were identified as members of a Hamas terrorist cell.
Online security camera footage showed approximately a dozen undercover personnel, including three dressed in women’s clothing and two as medical staff, moving through a hospital corridor armed with assault rifles.
The Israeli military identified one of the neutralized men as 27-year-old Mohammad Jalamneh, who they alleged was planning an imminent attack and had been distributing weapons and ammunition to other members. The other two men, brothers Basil and Mohammad Ghazawi, were also hiding in the hospital and were implicated in attacks, according to the military.
The army statement added, “A firearm was discovered on a wanted individual and was seized by the forces.” Hamas confirmed that Jalamneh was a member of their organization. The Jenin Brigade, comprising several Palestinian armed resistance groups, stated that two of the three men were members of Islamic Jihad.
Basil had been receiving treatment at the hospital for three months after being injured by fragments from an Israeli drone attack on October 25, which targeted a group of men near the Jenin camp cemetery, according to sources from Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned the neutralization of the three young men by the Israeli forces.