By Xinhua,
Ramallah : An Islamic Hamas militant was killed early on Sunday following several hours of fire exchange with Israeli army forces near the southern West Bank city of Hebron, witnesses said.
Hamas’ armed wing al-Qassam Brigades said in a leaflet sent to reporters that Abdul Aziz al-Natsheh, 25, was killed after several hours of armed clashes with the Israeli forces.
The leaflet and witnesses said that al-Natsheh was held up in a house since Saturday night, and that the Israeli army forces surrounded the house and clashed with him for 12 hours until they razed his house to the ground.
Palestinian paramedics said that they found the remains of al-Natsheh, adding that rescue teams are still looking for the rest of al-Natsheh’s body. His mother Om Izzat al-Natsheh told reporters the Israeli soldiers asked her to call on his son to surrender.
She said “they came to our house at midnight and took me with them to the house where my son was hiding,” adding “I called him using a loudspeaker to hand himself over, but he refused.”
She added that after he refused to surrender, the Israeli army called bulldozers and “destroyed the entire house over the head of my son. I was not able to see my son’s body because it was torn into pieces.”
Al-Qassam Brigades vowed revenge following al-Natsheh’s death, despite the six-month ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel since on June 19. The ceasefire does not extend to the West Bank.