Early this morning in Shechem, Hinawi, the top Hamas man in Shechem, was killed in a joint IDF-Police-General Security Service operation in the city. When the force neared his home, Hinawi burst out of the building, shooting wildly with his Kalachnikov rifle. The soldiers returned fire and killed him.
Hinawi had led an intensive campaign to build explosives factories, and was involved in many terror attacks in the past, killing or mortally wounding several Israelis.
The Shechem operation also netted the arrests of several leading Hamas terrorists in the region.
In the Shomron city of Jenin on Sunday morning, an IDF force identified two armed terrorists apparently on their way to an attack against another IDF unit. The soldiers opened fire, wounding one - but both escaped. Not for long, however, as IDF forces pursued them into Jenin, found the house to which they escaped, and shot and killed one of them. The dead terrorist turned out to be Shajija Bilawi, who had been wanted by the IDF.
IDF forces also killed two terrorists in Gaza - one yesterday as he tried to place a bomb, and another one today as he tried to launch a mortar shell. Two terrorists were seriously wounded in the latter incident.
IDF forces fired over 40 artillery shells towards northern Gaza last night, following Palestinian shelling of Israeli targets.
Thanks to the alertness of IDF soldiers manning the Hawara checkpoint south of Shechem today, three Arab youths were arrested trying to smuggle a ready-to-operate explosive device. The bomb was safely detonated in a controlled explosion, and the youths were taken for interrogation. Hawara is a popular spot for attempted Arab bomb smugglings.
Despite the continued terror attempts, the IDF lifted its closure of Judea and Samaria yesterday, with 8,000 workers allowed to cross from Gaza into Israel. The closure was imposed after the terrorist bombing in the Hadera market three weeks ago, in which six people were murdered.
Hinawi had led an intensive campaign to build explosives factories, and was involved in many terror attacks in the past, killing or mortally wounding several Israelis.
The Shechem operation also netted the arrests of several leading Hamas terrorists in the region.
In the Shomron city of Jenin on Sunday morning, an IDF force identified two armed terrorists apparently on their way to an attack against another IDF unit. The soldiers opened fire, wounding one - but both escaped. Not for long, however, as IDF forces pursued them into Jenin, found the house to which they escaped, and shot and killed one of them. The dead terrorist turned out to be Shajija Bilawi, who had been wanted by the IDF.
IDF forces also killed two terrorists in Gaza - one yesterday as he tried to place a bomb, and another one today as he tried to launch a mortar shell. Two terrorists were seriously wounded in the latter incident.
IDF forces fired over 40 artillery shells towards northern Gaza last night, following Palestinian shelling of Israeli targets.
Thanks to the alertness of IDF soldiers manning the Hawara checkpoint south of Shechem today, three Arab youths were arrested trying to smuggle a ready-to-operate explosive device. The bomb was safely detonated in a controlled explosion, and the youths were taken for interrogation. Hawara is a popular spot for attempted Arab bomb smugglings.
Despite the continued terror attempts, the IDF lifted its closure of Judea and Samaria yesterday, with 8,000 workers allowed to cross from Gaza into Israel. The closure was imposed after the terrorist bombing in the Hadera market three weeks ago, in which six people were murdered.