The Israel Defense Forces said it killed Qais Bitawi, a senior Hamas operative who directed attacks against Israeli forces and civilians, in a targeted airstrike near Jenin on Friday. Two accomplices were also eliminated, the military said. Bitawi was a central figure in the Jenin terror network dismantled during Operation Iron Wall in January 2025.
The Israel Defense Forces eliminated Qais Bitawi, a senior Hamas operative, and two accomplices in a precision airstrike near Jenin on Friday afternoon. The first reports of the strike emerged at 16:27 Jerusalem, indicating a targeted attack on the head of a terror cell planning attacks. Within a minute, a security official told The Zioneer that a drone had struck a vehicle carrying three terrorists, including the cell leader. By 17:19, the IDF, Shin Bet, and Israel Police jointly confirmed that the primary target was Bitawi, a senior Hamas figure responsible for directing, financing, and executing attacks against Israelis, with ties to Hamas in Gaza and abroad. The military stated the operation was based on Shin Bet and IDF intelligence.
Bitawi was a central figure in the Jenin terror network dismantled during Operation Iron Wall in January 2025. Since then, he continued to promote attacks, including directing the July 2024 bomb attack at the Gilboa junction that wounded two Ministry of Defense workers. He also commanded a cell from Qabatiya. Security forces had attempted to arrest him multiple times. Bitawi is a relative of Nur Bitawi, the head of the Islamic Jihad network in Jenin who was eliminated in May 2025 in Nablus. After the strike, soldiers from Battalion 50 of the Nahal Brigade confiscated an M16 rifle found near the operatives.
As The Zioneer has reported, Jenin remains a focal point for terror activity. In August 2026, the Yamam counter‑terror unit foiled a cell in Jenin that planned to assassinate Defense Minister Israel Katz. The elimination of Bitawi is part of ongoing Israeli efforts to dismantle terror networks in the Menashe Brigade sector, which encompasses the Jenin area.
The full extent of the cell’s current attack plans and any remaining affiliated operatives in the area remain under investigation. Security forces continue to conduct targeted operations based on intelligence leads.
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