IDF says Lion’s Den bomb factory destroyed, setting off heavy fighting in Nablus

Israeli soldiers destroyed an explosives workshop in Nablus, the military said early Tuesday, in an extensive raid on the West Bank city that sparked intense clashes, leaving five people dead, including the leader of a terror group, and over 20 injured, according to Palestinian health officials.

Blasts and gunshots rang out for over an hour in Nablus after a large convoy of Israel Defense Forces vehicles entered the West Bank city before 1 a.m. Tuesday. Nablus has been the focus of weeks of operations targeting the Lion’s Den terror group, responsible for a string of attacks on military positions, settlements and elsewhere, according to the IDF.

“A joint force of IDF soldiers, Shin Bet security service agents and anti-terror forces raided a hideaway in Nablus’s old city that was being used as a bomb workshop by central members of Lion’s Den,” the IDF said in a statement released following the raid.

The IDF said troops had used shoulder-launched missiles against the building. “The bomb workshop was blown up by our forces,” the military said.

The army said soldiers opened fire on a number of gunmen, citing Palestinian reports of casualties. It said soldiers also returned fire when shot at during rioting in the city.

“During the operation, dozens of Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at troops,” the army said.

Men carry Hamdi Sharaf’s body after clashing with Israeli forces in Nablus, in the West Bank on October 25, 2022. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

The IDF said no soldiers were hurt in the overnight operation.

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry reported that five Palestinians were killed in Nablus and over 20 were injured, several of them seriously.

It also reported that a sixth person was killed in clashes with troops in Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah. The IDF said that man was shot by soldiers after hurling an explosive device at them.

The ministry named the fatalities in Nablus as Hamdi Ramzy, 30, Ali Antar, 26, Hamdi Sharaf, 35, Wadee al-Houh, 31, and Mishaal Baghdadi, 27.

Al-Houh was a senior and founding member of Lion’s Den, according to Israeli officials and Palestinian media reports.

The IDF said al-Houh, who ostensibly led the group and was allegedly responsible for numerous attacks, was a “main target of the operation.”

Al-Houh was also responsible for manufacturing explosive devices and procuring weapons for members of the group, the IDF charged.

الشهيد حبيب الله.. الشهيد عند الله

إستشهاد القائد الميداني في #عرين_الأسود وديع الحوح

ولا حول ولا قوة الا بالله
إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون pic.twitter.com/Ofy7TDWhhd

— رضا ياسين ???????? (@RedaYasen2021) October 25, 2022

Palestinian media also identified the other killed men as members as well. The group did not immediately comment on the operation against it.

“The terrorist Wadee al-Houh was killed in the exchange of fire,” Prime Minister Yair Lapid told the Kan public radio on Tuesday morning.

“Israel will never be deterred from acting for its security. Part of this squad are people who hurt Ido Baruch, and the moment they hurt us, IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, they should know it will end badly,” he added, referring to a soldier killed in a shooting attack near Nablus last month.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz in a Tuesday morning Twitter post said “there aren’t and won’t be sanctuary cities for terrorists.”

“We will continue to act against anyone who tries to harm the citizens of Israel, wherever and whenever necessary,” he added.

وضع أمني خطير واشتباكات تدور حاليا مع إحدى النقاط العسكرية في الجبل الشمالي #نابلس #فلسطين https://t.co/1sZfXMREBy ???????? pic.twitter.com/Qemypw4vFn

— adel aridji (@AdelAridji) October 24, 2022

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was establishing “urgent contacts in order to stop this aggression against our people,” his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeinah said as fighting appeared to rage in Nablus.

In a later statement, Abu Rudeinah said the deaths are “a war crime and the Israeli government bears full responsibility for its consequences.”

Palestinian media reported that calls were being made for a general strike in Nablus on Tuesday.

Palestinian kids look at a damaged car following an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Nablus, October 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Separately, the military said Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the Salem crossing in the northern West Bank early Tuesday. The checkpoint and…