Terrorists covertly utilized the Jenin hospital as a clandestine operational center while devising an infiltration attack inspired by the October 7 massacre.
In a successful operation overnight on Tuesday, Israeli counterterrorism forces thwarted a terror attack reminiscent of the October 7 incident. The target was a cell harbored at the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin, located in the West Bank.
A joint statement from the IDF, Israel Police’s YAMAM counterterrorism forces, and the Shin Bet revealed that the operation resulted in the elimination of Mohammad Jalamna, a wanted Hamas terrorist. Two accomplices, who had concealed themselves with him at the hospital, were also neutralized during the mission.
Mohammad Jalamna, aged 27 and a resident of the Jenin refugee camp, maintained direct communication with Hamas leadership abroad. According to the statement, he played a key role in facilitating the transfer of weaponry and ammunition to Hamas operatives throughout the West Bank for launching shooting attacks against Israelis.
Furthermore, Jalamna used the Jenin hospital as a secret base of operations as he was planning an infiltration attack akin to and inspired by the October 7 massacre, it added.
Along with Jalamneh, Mohammed and Basel Ghazawi, brothers and Palestinian terrorists, were also killed by Israeli forces. Mohammed was a terrorist operative of the Jenin battalions who was involved in numerous attacks including firing at IDF soldiers in the area in recent weeks, the IDF said.
Basel was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative involved in terror activities in the area.
The security forces stated that for a long time, a large number of wanted persons had been hiding in hospitals and were using them as a base for planning terror attacks and carrying them out, and that they believed that the hospitals would serve as protection against Israeli security forces.
The three terrorists were neutralized by a combination of Yamam forces and the IDF, which raided the hospital, and within minutes, eliminated the terrorists while they were in a hidden room on one of the floors.
The statement said that the operation was made possible due to accurate intelligence received before the operation, and an operation of this nature was unprecedented.
One senior official stated, “There are no cities of refuge in the West Bank and there will not be – every terrorist should know this. The hand of the IDF and the security establishment will reach everyone.”
