AMNA NAWAZ: Israel and Hamas have agreed to# pause fighting in Gaza to allow hundreds of## thousands of children to receive polio# vaccinations.
Those pauses will occur## in specific locations for eight to nine# hours a day over three days beginning on## Sunday.
The World Health Organization aims to# vaccinate 640,000 children under the age of 10.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, at least# 16 people have been killed in what the## Israeli military calls counterterrorism raids# that began Wednesday in the cities of Jenin,## Tulkarm, and the al-Fara'a refugee camp.
Among five militants Israeli forces say# they killed today in the city of Tulkarm,## Mohammed Jaber, a local commander they long# pursued.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the## militant force backed by Iran, confirmed Jaber's# death.
Israeli officials say Jaber was linked to## -- quote -- "numerous terror attacks," including# the June death of an Israeli man, Amnon Muchtar.
Jaber was killed in an overnight gun battle near a## mosque which left residents# caught in the crossfire.
Khaled Abu Al-Ghiyab says he and his# wife barely escaped their home alive.
KHALED ABU AL-GHIYAB, West Bank Resident# (through translator): The house went up in## flames as they shot three, four ro.. got out.
My wife's shoulder and arm were# burned.
Thank God it only came to that.
AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, families at the# al-Fara'a refugee camp buried their dead,## four killed in an Israeli raid yesterday.# Masoud Naaja's survived that raid.
Today,## he buried his two children, who did not.
The IDF released this drone footage today# they say showing a militant base inside## a mosque in the camp.
Their forces have# now withdrawn from al-Fara'a.
Also today,## Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said returning# Israeli citizens to their homes along the Lebanese## border, where fighting with Hezbollah# continues, must be a goal of the war.
Just yesterday, rescued hostage Qaid Farhan# Alkadi returned to his village home near Rahat.
QAID FARHAN ALKADI, Rescued Hostage (through# translator): I feel 100 percent and next to you## another 200 percent.
Do everything# you can, if it's demonstrations,## everything to bring the people home from this# side to the other, and from the other side,## to bring them back as well.
For me, they# are all human beings, no matter what.
AMNA NAWAZ: His return is# bittersweet.
Israel has said## that his bedouin Arab village was built# without permits and has plans to demolish## 70 percent of homes there.
Alkadi's home# has not received a demolition notice.
For perspective on Israel's operation in# the West Bank, we turn to Steven Erlanger,## chief diplomatic correspondent for# The New York Times.
He previously## met with the Islamic Jihad leader# who Israeli forces killed today.
Steven, welcome and thanks for joining us.
So these Israeli forces had been trying to# kill Mohammed Jaber for a very long time.## They actually thought that they'd done# so back in April, and then he emerged## alive three days later to kind of cult status# among people there for surviving.
But tell us,## who was Mohammed Jaber and why was# he one of Israel's most wanted men?
STEVEN ERLANGER, The New York Times:# Well, he was the leader of a group of## militants in the Tulkarm refugee camp.# And he'd organized them very well.
So there was a collective of militants from# Fatah, from all the other factions.
And after## the October 7 invasion by Hamas, they started# to recruit more people.
And, spirited by that,## encouraged by that invasion, many of them,# like this kid Abu Shuja'a turned to Islamic## Jihad or to Hamas away from Fatah, because# they felt that Hamas had actually broken## through a complete stagnation in the# prospect of Palestinian nationhood.
And so for a lot of people, he was a hero# because he kept surviving Israeli efforts## to kill him.
But he represented a new# generation of young Palestinian militants## willing to fight and die for their dream of# a free and independent Palestine and to drive## Israeli occupiers, as they see# them, out of the West Bank.
AMNA NAWAZ: And Steven, just to clarify,# Abu Shuja'a, who you referenced there,## that's the nom de guerre of Mohammed Jaber.# It translates to father of the brave.
But when you met with him in person a reporting# trip to Tulkarm in the West Bank earlier this year## and he told you he'd switched allegiances# from the more moderate Fatah to the more## extremist Islamic Jihad, what was the reason# for that?
Was that just because of October 7## or had that been building for a while?
STEVEN ERLANGER: He switched to Islamic## Jihad partly because everyone among# his peers have lost faith in the## Palestinian Authority.
They regard# them as collaborating with Israel.
And they have been very offended# that the Palestinian security forces,## whenever Israel would come to attack people# like Abu Shuja'a, did not fight the Israelis,## but either collaborated with# them or actually stayed at home.
So there's also been a growing dissatisfaction# with the leader of the Palestinian Authority,## Mahmoud Abbas, and also the feeling that the# Palestinian state was really going nowhere,## that there was a stagnation,# that life looked hopeless.
And as ugly as the Hamas invasion# was, for many young Palestinians,## it expressed a degree of hope that their# own situation was not hopeless forever.
AMNA NAWAZ: We just saw today the United# Nations secretary-general, Antonio Guterres,## say that these Israeli raids are fueling what# he called an already explosive situation in## the West Bank, but he also said they could# further undermine the Palestinian Authority.
What do you make of that?
STEVEN ERLANGER: Well, I think the Palestinian# Authority is pretty well undermined in .. partly through its own faults, but also# through the Israeli government's decision## to withhold taxes from them, and also after# October 7 they have closed the West Bank.
So Palestinians who had legal permits to work# in Israel could no longer go to Israel to work,## and Palestinians living in Israel could no# longer go to places like Jenin and Tulkarm to## even shop, so the economy crashed.
And the# Palestinian Authority was already weakened.
Now you have these far right ministers inside# the Israeli government who talk about annexing## the West Bank who are encouraging settlers to# take more ground.
So all of this does fuel more## militancy and creates anxiety among the Israeli# military that there will be a new wave of suicide## bombings and explosives used against Israelis# in Israel proper, let alone among the settlers.
AMNA NAWAZ: Well, Steven, as you know,## Israel says the goal of this operatio.. as you have reported on, has taken hold in many# of the refugee camps there in the West Bank.
Knowing what you know about that# force, is that goal attainable?
STEVEN ERLANGER: Well, it's impossible# to defeat an idea.
This, we understand,## whether it's expressed by Hamas# or by Fatah or by these kids.
They have a dream of an independent Palestine.# They have a dream of their land taken back,## of Israeli settlers and occupiers gone.# And there's going to be very little that## Israel can do to destroy that.
The idea# of a two-state solution, I have to say,## seems farther away than ever.And it would require# giving Palestinians authority and sovereignty and## control over their own lives that Israel, for its# stated security reasons, is not prepared to give.
So I see this third-front# war going on indefinitely.
AMNA NAWAZ: That is Steven Erlanger, chief# diplomatic correspondent for The New York Times.
Steven, thank you so much.
Good to speak with you.
STEVEN ERLANGER: Thank you.