IDF and Shin Bet kill Hamas Jenin commander Qais Bitawi and two accomplices in rare West Bank airstrike
“By Patrick Lancier”
On Friday 28 August 2026, the IDF and the Shin Bet killed Hamas Jenin commander Qais Bitawi and two accomplices in a rare aerial strike in Jenin. The joint statement said he directed, funded and executed attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces, and kept ties with Hamas in Gaza and abroad. Weapons were found in the vehicle. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a successful thwarting of the terrorists in Jenin. The strike dismantled a Hamas cell that had kept plotting against civilians and soldiers after Operation Iron Wall.
A rare strike in Jenin
The Jerusalem Post reports a joint IDF–Shin Bet statement: an Israel Air Force strike on a vehicle in the Jenin area killed a senior Hamas operative and two additional terrorists. The Times of Israel calls it a rare West Bank airstrike. After Bitawi and two accomplices were spotted leaving a car next to a structure, a drone strike killed the three. The military said they had been identified as armed. Weapons were in the vehicle. The IDF named Bitawi. It did not name the two accomplices.
The Jerusalem Post sometimes writes Bitwani. The IDF, the Shin Bet and the Times of Israel name him Bitawi. Al-Monitor, carrying Reuters, likewise names Qais Bitawi and two accomplices in a rare use of air power in the West Bank.
Directing, funding and executing attacks on civilians and soldiers
The IDF and Shin Bet said Bitawi advanced significant terror activity: directing, funding and executing attacks against Israeli civilians and security forces. He maintained ties with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and with Hamas operatives abroad. The Post reports he was involved in the July 2024 Gilboa Seam bombing, in which two Defense Ministry employees were injured. The Times of Israel, citing a military official, places that bombing along the West Bank security barrier — the same attack, two wounded ministry employees.
The strike followed an extensive intelligence effort led by the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence. Israeli forces arrested and questioned dozens of contacts before locating him. Several earlier attempts to arrest him had failed, the Post writes, while he kept operating. Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed that Bitawi was one of its commanders, the Times of Israel reports. That confirmation matches the Israeli description of a Hamas commander, not a bystander.
After Iron Wall, a cell from Qabatiya
The Jenin network in which Bitawi operated had been dismantled during Operation Iron Wall, the large-scale campaign in the northern West Bank. He did not stop. A military official told the Times of Israel that after Bitawi was pushed out of the Jenin camp, he “continued to act to advance terror plots, including commanding a terror cell from the village of Qabatiya that sought to carry out attacks.” The Post adds he was a relative of Noor Bitawi, the former Jenin network commander killed by the IDF in May 2025. The cell was being rebuilt. Friday’s strike cut it.
Netanyahu and Katz: Israel does not wait
Netanyahu congratulated the IDF for the “successful thwarting of the terrorists in Jenin.” Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “We do not wait for terrorism.” He described the strike as among the fruits of an offensive policy in Judea and Samaria, and claimed an 80% drop in West Bank terror. That 80% figure is Katz’s claim. It is not independently verified. Israel pursues Hamas networks that plot against its civilians and its soldiers. It does not wait for the next bombing on the Gilboa Seam.
FAQ
Who was killed?
Qais Bitawi, a Hamas Jenin commander, and two accomplices. The IDF named Bitawi. It did not name the other two. Friday 28 August 2026, Jenin, rare airstrike. Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Reuters via Al-Monitor.
What did the IDF and Shin Bet say he did?
Directed, funded and executed attacks on Israeli civilians and security forces. Ties to Hamas in Gaza and abroad. July 2024 Gilboa Seam bombing: two Defense Ministry employees injured. After Iron Wall, a terror cell from Qabatiya.
Did Al-Qassam confirm him?
Yes. The Times of Israel reports that Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed Bitawi was one of its commanders.
Is the 80% drop in West Bank terror a verified statistic?
No. It is Defense Minister Israel Katz’s claim. It is attributed to him. It is not independently verified.
Sources
- Jerusalem Post, 28 August 2026 — Yonah Jeremy Bob: IDF/Shin Bet joint statement; Qais Bitwani/Bitawi; vehicle strike; weapons; Gilboa Seam July 2024, two Defense Ministry employees injured; dozens of contacts; Netanyahu “successful thwarting of the terrorists in Jenin”; Katz “We do not wait for terrorism,” 80% claim
- Times of Israel, 28 August 2026 — Emanuel Fabian: rare drone strike; Bitawi; Al-Qassam confirmed him as commander; Qabatiya cell after Iron Wall; Gilboa Seam/security barrier bombing
- Al-Monitor / Reuters, 28 August 2026 — rare West Bank air strike; Qais Bitawi and two accomplices; directing, funding, executing attacks; ties to Hamas in Gaza and abroad
“By Patrick Lancier”
Leave a Reply