JENIN: Gunfire and explosions rocked the occupied West Bank's Jenin area on Wednesday, a Palestinian official and a reporter said, as the Israeli military pressed on for a second day with a large-scale raid. The operation, launched just days after a ceasefire paused fighting in Gaza, has left at least 10 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian health authorities. Israeli officials have said the raid is part of a broader campaign against militants in the occupied West Bank, citing thousands of attack attempts since the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas began in October 2023. "The situation is very difficult," Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, told AFP. "The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to the Jenin camp and leading to the Jenin Governmental Hospital... There is shooting and explosions," he added, referring to the Israeli military.
Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, the official said. A correspondent reported that gunfire and explosions could be heard coming from Jenin refugee camp, a hotbed of militancy where Israeli forces have regularly carried out raids. In December, security forces from the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority were also involved in similar clashes with the militants in and around Jenin.
The Israeli military on Wednesday said it was continuing on with the operation, dubbed "Iron Wall", adding that they have "neutralised over 10 people." "Additionally, aerial strikes on terror infrastructure sites were conducted and numerous explosives planted on the routes were dismantled," it said in a statement. The raid in Jenin aims to counter "hundreds of attacks, both in Judea and Samaria and the rest of Israel," military spokesman Nadav Shoshani said at a press briefing, referring to the biblical name that Israel uses for the Palestinian territory it has occupied since 1967. He said that since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel saw "over 2,000 attack attempts" from the West Bank, adding that the army had "eliminated around 800 people". Shoshani said the explosive devices planted along roads had recently killed a soldier in the area. Defence Minister Israel Katz vowed to continue the raid in Jenin. "It is a decisive operation aimed at eliminating gunmen in the camp," Katz said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the military would not allow a "terror front" to be established there. "It is a key lesson learned from Gaza... we do not want groups to recur in the camp once the operation ends," he said, referring to how the military had to return to several areas in Gaza that were previously declared clear of militants.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "maximum restraint" from Israeli security forces and expressed deep concern, according to his deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq. Jenin and its refugee camp are known strongholds of Palestinian militant groups, and Israeli forces frequently carry out raids targeting armed factions in the area. Violence has surged throughout the occupied West Bank since the Gaza war erupted on October 7, 2023. According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 848 Palestinians in the West Bank since the Gaza conflict began. Meanwhile, at least 29 Israelis including soldiers have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the territory during the same period, according to official Israeli figures. After months of negotiations, a ceasefire has paused the devastating war in Gaza, but it risks collapsing as a result of deep distrust between Israel and Hamas and the multi-phased nature of the deal. Qatar, which mediated the talks along with the United States and Egypt, has expressed hope the six-week truce and hostage-prisoner exchange will become permanent. — AFP
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