On Friday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) located and deleted a senior Hamas commander, Wassem Hazem, along with several of his henchmen. The operation was executed as the IDF pushed further into the West Bank:
Israeli forces wiped out a Hamas commander and at least two henchmen Friday as they forged ahead for a third day with a full-blown military operation in the occupied West Bank.
Wassem Hazem, the head of the terror group in the stronghold city of Jenin, was shot dead after exchanging fire with Israeli special forces during a pursuit, the Israeli military said.
Hazem had been involved in shooting and bombing attacks in the Palestinian territory, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Weapons, explosives and large sums of cash were later found in the vehicle, the military added.
Hamas has since confirmed the three deaths, saying all three were members of its al-Qassam Brigades armed wing.
This is what we call a “good start.” The IDF would seem to agree:
“So far, the forces have eliminated 20 terrorists in exchanges of fire and airstrikes and apprehended 17 suspects linked to terrorist activities,” the Israeli military said of its operation so far.
Israel has said the raids are aimed at preventing attacks, while Palestinians have decried them as only fueling an escalation of the war in Gaza.
See Related: United States Pressuring Israel to Pull Out of Gaza, Leave Hamas in Charge
Israel Defense Forces, Making Bad Terrorists Into Good Terrorists
Making bad terrorists into good terrorists is something the IDF excels at.
The United Nations, predictably, whined about Israel’s successes in un-aliving bad guys:
The U.N. secretary-general, António Guterres, on Friday called for an immediate halt to the raids, urging Israel’s government to comply with its obligations under international law and to take measures to protect civilians.
“These dangerous developments are fueling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further undermining the Palestinian Authority,” he said in a statement.
Advice to Israel: Ignore the UN.
The Palestinian Authority has, for many years, undermined its own legitimacy by providing a haven for goblins like Wassem Hazem. And if the situation is explosive, it is because Hamas and other Iran-funded terror groups keep launching attacks on Israel. Add to that the fact that, in the history of warfare, no military force has undertaken operations with greater care to minimize collateral damage and civilian death and injury than the IDF. Israel seems to know how to handle Hamas, and even in this process, the IDF has exercised more than reasonable precautions to avoid the collateral injuries and deaths that have always been and always will be a part of war. Hamas is making that difficult by literally using their population as human shields.
Every civilian dead or injured in these areas is a plus for Hamas. These are propaganda victories for the terror group, which is why they set up installations, store weapons, and force engagements in populated civilian areas. It is deliberate, and it is Hamas, not Israel, that owns the responsibility for every single civilian death and injury in Gaza, the West Bank, or anywhere else where the IDF is engaged in killing bad guys.
The entire situation Israel faces is, fundamentally, a clash between civilized and uncivilized. This time, the civilized won the day.
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