At least eight Palestinians have been killed and 35 injured by Israeli security forces during a major operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry says.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military, police and Shin Bet security service had launched an “extensive and significant” operation to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin, which is seen as a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups.
Palestinian media said Israeli forces moved into Jenin and its refugee camp following several drone strikes.
It comes just three days after the start of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza and highlights the threat of more violence in the West Bank.
A statement from Israel’s prime minister said the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall”, was an “additional step in achieving the objective we have set: bolstering security” in the West Bank.
“We are acting methodically and with determination against the Iranian axis wherever it reaches: in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and [the West Bank] – and we are still active,” he added.
Israel accuses Iran of smuggling weapons and funds to Hamas, PIJ and other armed groups in the West Bank to foment unrest.
Israeli media cited a military source as saying that the goals of the operation were to preserve its “freedom of action” in the West Bank, dismantle armed groups’ infrastructure, and eliminate imminent threats. The source also said the operation would continue for “as long as necessary”.
Jenin’s governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, told AFP news agency that “what is happening is an invasion of the camp”.
“It came quickly, Apache [helicopters] in the sky and Israeli military vehicles everywhere,” he added.
The official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, cited local sources as saying that Israeli forces were “completely besieging” Jenin camp, and that armoured bulldozers had dug up several streets.
It also cited the director of Jenin’s Government hospital, Wissam Bakr, as saying that three doctors and two nurses were among those wounded by Israeli gunfire.
The Israeli raid follows a weeks-long operation by Palestinian security forces against armed groups in Jenin camp that sought to restore the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority’s control.
An AFP journalist said PA security personnel withdrew from some of their positions around the camp before the Israeli forces moved in.
Hamas condemned the Israeli operation in Jenin and called on Palestinians in the West Bank to escalate attacks against Israeli forces there in response.
There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids, saying they are trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.
In another development in the West Bank overnight, groups of masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning homes.
It happened just as new US President Donald Trump announced that he was lifting sanctions on violent settlers imposed by the Biden administration.
A far-right Israeli minister welcomed the reversal in US policy, while Palestinian officials said it would encourage further violence.
Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
