The attack comes as Israel steps up its ground incursions against Hamas fighters in Gaza.
Israel has bombed the West Bank home of a senior Hamas official as it aggressively targets the Palestinian group’s leaders amid the Gaza war.
Images posted on social media on Tuesday appear to show Saleh al-Arouri’s house completely demolished in the town of Arura, near Ramallah.
Al-Arouri, who is believed to be living in exile in Lebanon, is the vice-president of Hamas’ political bureau. Neither he nor his family were present in the house when she was struck.
Israeli forces took over al-Arouri’s house ten days ago and said they had begun using it as an intelligence center.
“It was more of a symbolic decision to blow up this house,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Bernard Smith from Ramallah. “Of course, they really want al-Arouri himself… he is considered one of the real masterminds behind the October 7 attack launched by Hamas on Israeli territory. »
Israel also announced that it had killed another Hamas member involved in organizing the October 7 attacks which killed 1,400 Israelis.
An update from the Israeli military on social media platform
The post said Ajina played a role in developing Hamas’s “drone and paraglider capabilities.”
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) said that “the elimination (of Ajina) significantly harms the efforts of the Hamas terrorist organization to disrupt the IDF’s ground activities.” .
Israel’s targeting of Hamas leaders comes after its ground forces entered Gaza for the fourth consecutive night on Monday, marking the most serious escalation of its three-week war.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israeli forces killed Hamas fighters and “ordered air forces to strike targets in real time” during the incursion. The Israeli military also reported several engagements in which its forces came under anti-tank missile and machine gun fire. Hamas claimed to have destroyed an Israeli armored vehicle east of the Erez crossing in Gaza.
Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls for a ceasefire after three weeks of relentless strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 8,000 people, including at least 3,000 children.
“This will not happen,” Netanyahu told foreign media.
“Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to capitulate to Hamas. »