Israeli Commander Killed in Jenin amid Intensified West Bank Raids

In a statement, the Israeli army confirmed that 20-year-old squad commander Elkana Navon "fell during operational activity" in Jenin earlier in the day.

Another soldier was "severely injured" in the same incident, the statement added.

The army described the event as a confrontation between Israeli forces, who had entered a house in the city’s refugee camp, and Palestinian resistance fighters.

The ongoing escalation, now in its fourth day, has seen Israeli forces intensify airstrikes and ground attacks across various areas of the West Bank, particularly in the north.

Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi, who was visiting Jenin on Saturday, stated that the operations involve "moving from city to city, refugee camp to refugee camp, with excellent intelligence, with very good operational capabilities, with a very strong air intelligence envelope."

At least 22 Palestinians have been killed so far during the escalation.

In response to the ongoing violence, the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas warned that Israel is seeking to expand its military campaign, which began in October and has already resulted in the deaths of over 40,600 Palestinians in Gaza, to the West Bank.

However, the Islamic Jihad, a fellow Gaza-based resistance group, asserted that the Israeli aggression would only strengthen the resolve of the resistance in their efforts to liberate Palestinian territories.

Such aggression, the group said, “will not achieve its goals, but will only increase our determination and resolve to resist until the occupation is expelled from our land.”