Israeli forces on Wednesday night apprehended a Hamas operative in a Nablus (Shechem) hospital who had been wounded in an Israeli drone strike on Sunday morning.
Ayman Ghanam was a member of the three-man terrorist cell that carried out a shooting at the Mehola junction on Route 90 in the Jordan Valley on Aug. 11, killing Yonatan Deutsch, 23, and wounding Anas Jaramana, 32.
He was evacuated to the hospital following the drone strike near Jenin in northern Samaria, in which the head of the cell, Wael Lahly, 31, from Qabatiya, was killed. Three other terrorists were eliminated in the attack, who according to the Israel Defense Forces had carried out several shootings against Israeli communities in the Gilboa area.
According to the joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Israel Police, the Nablus hospital operation “was conducted following careful planning” to reduce the chances of harming patients and medical staff.
Since the Aug. 11 shooting, Ghanam headed a terrorist cell that had been planning to carry out another attack and posed an imminent threat to Israeli civilians, according to the statement.
The Nablus hospital operation involved special forces from the Israel Border Police’s “Yamam” National Counter-Terrorism Unit and the ISA.
Additionally, it was cleared for publication on Wednesday that another terrorist who took part in the Aug. 11 shooting, Abd al-Ra’uf Masri, was killed during exchanges of fire with Israeli security forces on Oc. 9. M-16 rifles, cartridges and military equipment were found on the terrorist’s body.
“The security forces will continue to operate wherever necessary to thwart terrorism in the area and to maintain the safety of Israeli civilians,” the statement concluded.
