Israel on Tuesday released dramatic helmet camera footage of a deadly raid in the West Bank city of Nablus a few days earlier, in which Israel Defense Forces troops killed two Palestinian terrorists.
Such footage is rare, not least of all because raids typically take place at night.
Soldiers from Israel’s elite Yamam counterterrorism unit are seen surrounding a residential building in Nablus’s Kasbah area where al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades commander Ibrahim Nabulsi and several other gunmen had barricaded themselves.
An hours-long fire fight ensued with Israeli troops using shoulder-launched missiles against the building and the Palestinian terrorists.
Troops later unearthed a large number of explosive devices and other weapons, the Shin Bet security agency said.
The video also shows Zili, the IDF’s trained Belgian Malinois dog, who was killed during the operation. Zili was buried in the unit’s dog cemetery.
Local Palestinian residents of Nablus rioted, hurled rocks and explosive devices at Israeli troops.
Nabulsi, known by Palestinians as “The Lion of Nablus,” was high on Israel’s wanted list. He has been hailed as a hero by Palestinian media for evading Israeli arrests in the past. Nabulsi was behind several terror attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, including attacks at the Jewish holy site of Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus.