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Israel-Gaza live updates: Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation

Israel Defense Forces said it launched an "operation to counter terrorism."

ByBill Hutchinson, Meredith Deliso, David Brennan, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: August 29, 2024, 12:34 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions continues in the Middle East, even with Hamas rejecting the latest iteration over the weekend.

The United States and its allies continue to plead for a cease-fire deal.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Aug 29, 2024, 12:34 PM EDT

Israel says it killed top militant in West Bank operation

Israeli forces killed the "head of a terrorist network," Mohammed Jabar, in the West Bank Thursday, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Nadav Shoshani told reporters Thursday.

Jabar and "four other armed operatives that were all directly connected to his network" were in a mosque when they were killed by Israeli forces, Shoshani said.

The bodies of Jabar and the four others killed in the mosque have not been handed over to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the ministry said.

People inspect damage to a mosque building following an Israeli military operation in the Fara camp for Palestinian refugees near Tubas in the north of the occupied West Bank, Aug. 29, 2024.
Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images

IDF special forces were deployed to the specific area where Jabar was located. There was a significant exchange of fire between the armed terrorists hiding inside the mosque and Israeli forces, according to Shoshani.

Jabar was allegedly planning future attacks, the IDF said.

-ABC News' Anna Burd and Nasser Atta

Aug 29, 2024, 12:01 PM EDT

Israeli delegation continues cease-fire talks in Qatar

A delegation from Israel -- including Israeli Security Agency, Mossad and IDF officials -- remains in Doha, Qatar, and is continuing hostage release and cease-fire talks for a second day, an Israeli official told ABC News Thursday.

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Aug 29, 2024, 6:42 AM EDT

West Bank death toll at 12, expected to rise

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has said that at least 12 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's ground and air operation in the West Bank.

Another five people are believed to have been killed in a mosque in Tulkarm on Wednesday, though their bodies have not been recovered or added to the overall toll.

A Palestinian man is detained by members of the Israeli forces during a military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Al-Faraa, Aug. 28, 2024.
Nasser Nasser/AP

Israel said "terrorists were hiding in the mosque," in the city, which is one of four areas subject to the ongoing raids.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Aug 29, 2024, 6:34 AM EDT

Israel 'fueling' explosive situation in West Bank: UN

The White House remains "deeply concerned about maintaining stability in the West Bank," a State Department spokesperson has said, as Israeli forces continue to press its multi-city operation.

"We recognize Israel's very real security needs to protect all citizens from harm," the spokesperson added.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement that Israel is "fueling an already explosive situation," while Guterres himself posted on X calling for an immediate end to the operation.

A man waves a Palestinian flag as an Israeli armoured vehicle moves on a street during a military operation in the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024.
Majdi Mohammed/AP

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

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