IDF: UNRWA worker killed in Samaria was a known terrorist, threw explosives at soldiers

IDF finds underground tunnel in Tulkarem as Operation 'Summer Camps' continues

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After UNRWA claimed that one of its workers was killed by an Israeli sniper, the IDF stated that the man was a known terrorist who was shot while hurling explosives at Israeli soldiers operating in the Far’a camp during its ongoing "Summer Camps" counter-terror operation.

On Friday, the UN agency claimed in a post on 𝕏 that a “sanitation labourer in the northern West Bank was shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper yesterday. This marks the first time an UNRWA staff member was killed in the West Bank in more than 10 years.”

IDF International Spokesman Lt.-Col. Nadav Shoshani retorted that UNRWA was not telling the full story.

“During an IDF counterterrorism operation in the Far’a area, which was characterized by violence that included shooting and the hurling of explosive devices at the security forces, a terrorist was identified hurling explosive devices that posed a threat to the forces operating in the area,” Shoshani wrote.

“IDF troops opened fire toward him to remove said threat, and he was killed. The terrorist was subsequently identified and it was discovered he is also an UNRWA employee named Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad. It should be noted that after receiving his details, it was found that the terrorist was known to Israeli security forces and he had been complicit in additional terrorist activities.”

“This is yet another example of an UNRWA employee taking active part in terrorist activities against Israel, as has been proven in several other cases in the past, including employees who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre,” the spokesman added.

Just last Thursday, UNRWA claimed that six of its workers were killed in an IDF airstrike on a school building in Gaza. The IDF later published a list of nine names of people who died in the strikes, which it said were verified Hamas terrorists. These included at least three confirmed terrorists who at the same time worked for UNRWA, as well as several terrorists who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre.

The raid in Far’a, in northern Samaria (West Bank) was part of a large-scale joint operation with the IDF, Border Police and Shin Bet security in five locations simultaneously. During the operations, the IDF eliminated 10 gunmen and destroyed a car bomb, several explosives laboratories, communications rooms and many weapons.

During two-day-long raids in the towns of Far’a, Tubas and Tamoun, Israeli security forces destroyed a car rigged with explosives and a remote activation system.

At the same time, raids in Tulkarem and Nur a-Shams resulted in the elimination of eight terrorists in airstrikes, while another was killed and 15 wounded during a gun battle.

Three of the terrorists eliminated in the airstrike in Nur a-Shams were senior commanders in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group, the IDF stated. In addition, another terrorist was a suspect in the death of Israeli police officer Maxim Rizhakov on Oct. 19 of last year.

Anti-terror operations continued on Friday when the IDF announced that soldiers discovered a terror tunnel in the town of Tulkarem.

“An underground tunnel was found near a hospital located inside the Tulkarm camp. The tunnel has an entrance hole and no exit. The forces continue to study the tunnel and will destroy it,” the army stated.

Israeli troops confiscated several weapons, including two M-16 rifles and sniper rifles.

In Tulkarem, four explosives laboratories, four communications rooms with cameras and a lathe used to make weapons were located and destroyed. In Tubas, five more gunmen were eliminated in an airstrike.

At the end of August, the IDF launched Operation Summer Camps, the largest counter-terror operation in Judea and Samaria since 2022’s Operation Defensive Shield, during which the IDF gained control of several towns in the region.

“Operation Summer Camps” refers to the so-called refugee camps across the region which have been hotbeds of repeated terror incitement and activity. The IDF also said the raid was a response to the unsuccessful Tel Aviv terror attack and was based on intelligence connected to that incident.