Hamas ends truce after Gaza strike; Israel enters Jenin-Nablus

By: Ahmad Hammadi

GAZA CITY: The Palestinian group Hamas has officially declared end of ceasefire on Thursday soon after an Israeli aerial attack claimed one of its top leaders named Ismael Abu Shaneb, reports said.

Ismael Abu Shaneb was martyred along with two of his bodyguards when Israeli rockets turned his vehicle into a fireball in central Gaza City.

A Hamas senior official Ismael Haniyeh made the statement terming the assassination of Abu Shaneb as the assassination of the armistice.

Separately, Palestinian witnesses and security sources said Israeli forces pierced in the West Bank city of Jenin from four directions early Thursday. The witnesses reported hearing gunfire as tanks and armored vehicles moved in from the north, south, east and west.

In another development, the Israeli army early Thursday launched a major operation around Nablus in the north of the West Bank.

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