Israel’s military on Wednesday killed three members of a “terrorist cell” in a rare drone strike in the West Bank, the army said, as violence escalates in the territory.
It was the first incident of its kind in several years.
“Following the identification of the terrorist cell, an IDF UAV fired toward the cell and thwarted them,” an army statement said.
Intelligence led Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel to identify the cell “inside a suspicious vehicle, after the cell carried out a shooting adjacent to the town of Jalamah,” the statement said.
Jalamah, at the northern end of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is just a few kilometers (miles) from Jenin, where on Monday an Israeli raid killed seven Palestinians.
Seven Israeli security personnel were wounded during the operation to arrest two suspects.
“The terrorist cell carried out a number of shooting attacks toward communities” in the West Bank, the army statement said.
Three people were killed in the drone strike, an army spokesman added.