IDF drone strike takes out Palestinian terror cell on way to planned shooting attack

The Israel Defense Forces carried out a drone strike against a Palestinian terror cell involved in several recent shooting attacks on Wednesday night, the IDF announced in a statement.

The terror group was identified in real time on the way to a planned shooting attack, when the IDF – in a joint operation with Shin Bet, Israel's security agency – used an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to fire upon the terrorists near the village of Al-Jalama, north of Jenin.

The group had managed to successfully flee from ground-based forces several times in the past. 

This strike represents a rare drone strike against terrorists in the West Bank.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the last time drones were used in the West Bank for such a strike was near the end of the Second Intifada in 2006.

According to Hagari, the drone used in the operation was an Elbit Hermes 450. 

Hagari cautioned against drawing conclusions against a possible change in IDF policy for the use of drones in offensive strikes but noted that decisions were made according to each individual case.

In September 2022, IDF Chief-of-Staff Aviv Kochavi approved the use of targeted UAV strikes against terrorists. Prior to that authorization, drones could only be used for intelligence gathering or providing cover for operating forces. 

The terror cell eliminated in Wednesday night's operation appeared to contain both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, according to Hagari. 

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem appeared to confirm Hamas' involvement in last night's incident when he stated, “The use of planes by the Zionist army to assassinate our people is a grave escalation.” 

However, a statement from the Jenin Brigades appeared to contradict that. The group claimed that two of the men were from PIJ, while the third was from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, a coalition of armed Palestinian militias aligned with the Palestinian Authority.

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who authorized the strike, praised the operation on social media. 

“I praise the security forces who a short time ago carried out a targeted elimination of a terrorist squad that fired toward Israeli territory, and had previously carried out several shooting attacks,” Gallant wrote. 

“We will take an offensive and proactive approach against terrorism, we will use all means at our disposal, and we will exact the heaviest price from every terrorist or terror emissary,” he added. 

In another operation early Thursday morning, the IDF demolished the Nablus house of the second terrorist involved in the killing of Sergeant Ido Baruch last October. 

Last week, the IDF destroyed the home of one of the two terrorists involved in the attack. 

Israel regularly demolishes the homes of terrorists. The policy has drawn criticism both internally and from the international community.