JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces raided a bomb lab in Nablus belonging to the Lions’ Den terror group overnight Monday, Oct. 24, killing the group’s leader, Wadi al-Houh, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces at the Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus, Oct. 14, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
Palestinian media reported that three other gunmen were wounded during the raid.
The terrorists’ hideout, an apartment in the Kasbah of Nablus, was also being used as the group’s headquarters, according to the IDF.
During the raid, Palestinians fired on and hurled stones at the Israeli forces, the military said.
The Lions’ Den terrorist group is responsible for the murder of IDF Staff Sgt. Ido Baruch on Oct. 11 in the northern West Bank and attempted to carry out a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv on Sept. 8.
The group is also behind the planting of a bomb at a gas station in Kedumim in Samaria.
A Lions’ Den terrorist also hurled a grenade at IDF soldiers who were adjacent to the Havat Gilad outpost in the area, and has carried out multiple shootings in Nablus.
“Our goal was and remains to strike hard and continuously at terrorists and those who dispatch them in Jenin, Nablus and wherever terrorism takes root,” Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said on Oct. 25. “We will not relent even for a moment.
“We will not permit the existence of terrorist organizations that attack Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.
“I commend the security forces that are active day and night for the safety of all Israelis. Those who try to attack us will suffer the consequences.”
Recently, the Lions’ Den “continued to recruit, plan and carry out attacks aimed against innocent Israeli civilians,” said the IDF.
“There will be no refuge cities for terrorists. We will continue to act against anyone who attempts to harm Israeli civilians in any place and time that is necessary,” said Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Oct. 25.
On Sunday, a senior member of Lions’ Den was killed in a motorcycle explosion, according to Palestinian reports.
The reports named the operative as Tamer al-Kilani, and described the blast as “mysterious,” though some Palestinian reports claimed that an explosive device was attached to the motorcycle by Israel.
The IDF launched “Operation Break the Wave” on March 31, relying on precise intelligence from the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and other intelligence services in arresting more than 1,500 security suspects — considered a very large number — and seizing more than 350 weapons, in an area saturated with illegal firearms.
The PA has good control of the situation in Judea — the southern West Bank — and the IDF has not been taking unusual actions there. It has maintained security coordination with PA security forces, enabling Palestinian and Israeli civilians there to maintain a reasonable routine, according to a military source.
