On August 28, 2026, an Israeli military drone struck a house under construction in the Harsh Al-Saada on the western outskirts of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, as large numbers of Israeli forces entered the area. Three Palestinians were killed in the strike. Following the attack, additional military reinforcements were deployed at the scene and in several areas of Jenin city.

It marked the first Israeli airstrike on the West Bank in around 10 months. Freshly released after months of administrative detention in Israeli jails, the Drop Site contributor Mujahed al-Saadi reported that the house was struck with at least two missiles and that Israeli troops deployed to the area immediately after the attack prevented ambulances from reaching the targeted house and detained Palestinian medical workers who arrived on the scene.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its ambulance crews were called to the site of the drone strike, where Israeli forces detained them upon arrival. Later, soldiers released its crews, forcing them to leave without transporting any of the wounded or dead, and confiscated medical equipment. After Israeli forces had abducted the body of Qais Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Bitawi, the PRCS was allowed to transfer the two others to the hospital.

Arrest:

Israeli forces abducted the young man Ibrahim Al-Bitawi while he was near the Al-Naseem roundabout in Jenin city.

The father and the mother of Qais Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Bitawi were then separately abducted by the Israeli forces in the same village.

Names of the martyrs:

1. Qais Ibrahim Mohammad Al-Bitawi, 22,

2. Basil Mohammad Ibrahim Turkman, 26,

3. Mu’min Mohammad Faris Jaradat, 22,

The Israeli military statement:

The IDF published the aerial footage of the drone strike. It claimed it had carried out a “precise strike” targeting what it described as “several terrorists.” They announced the assassination of the wanted Qais al-Bitawi, along with “additional aides,” after carrying out what it called a “precision attack” in Jenin. The army claimed that Al-Bitawi was an “organization leader” who was allegedly “responsible for local Hamas activity in the Jenin camp,” who “worked to advance numerous operations,” adding that a weapon was found in their vehicle.

However, the Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) did not claim Al-Bitawi as a member of its forces, while the Islamic Jihad resistance group released a statement that he was a senior operative of its armed wing.

Israeli political figures’ endorsement:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the strike on X: “I commend our forces for the successful elimination of the terrorists in Jenin. Shabbat shalom!” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described it also as “an initiative, an attack, and a successful thwarting.”

Yisrael Katz, Israel’s Defense Minister, stated that “These are the fruits of the offensive and preemptive policy that we are leading in ‘Judea and Samaria’ (the occupied West Bank),” adding, “We will continue to act forcefully and preemptively and thwart any threat to Israeli citizens, wherever it may be.”