Israel on Monday carried out drone strikes in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin and deployed hundreds of soldiers. An Israeli official called it the largest operation in the region in nearly two decades. At least nine Palestinians were killed and 50 injured in the raid, according to Palestinian health officials, while gunfire was reported in the streets of a sprawling refugee camp in Jenin.
An Israeli army spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, said the aim of the operation was to seize or destroy weapons from Palestinian militants. The Associated Press quoted Hecht as saying the raid began at 1 a.m. Monday morning with an airstrike on a building in Jenin refugee camp, which he said was used by militants to plan attacks.
Palestinians take to the streets after Israeli forces carried out air strikes and a raid on the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Jenin, July 3, 2023. Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Hecht said the raid continued with more attacks to clear the way for about 2,000 Israeli ground forces. He said that although Israel has carried out attacks in Jenin in recent weeks, it was the biggest escalation since 2006.
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Gunshots and the hum of drones could be heard on the streets of the camp, and black smoke billowed overhead. The Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli forces bulldozed roads and a memorial to those who died in the refugee camp. A child was said to have been injured by shrapnel.
An injured Palestinian is carried to a hospital during an Israeli military attack in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank July 3, 2023. Nasser Nasser/AP
Israel has blamed several attacks on Israelis this year on Palestinian militants operating in the Jenin refugee camp, and the camp had been raided several times before Monday’s large-scale operation.
As the West Bank operation continued, Israeli police said Monday afternoon they had arrested a 16-year-old Palestinian boy from Jenin for stabbing an Israeli in the Orthodox Jewish town of Bnei Berak. The Israeli, about 20, was taken to hospital with minor to moderate injuries, police said.
The Jenin refugee camp was established to house Palestinians displaced during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War. According to the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency, around 14,000 people are currently living there. The raids have sparked fears civilians could be caught in the crossfire, and the United Nations said it was mobilizing humanitarian aid.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the raids were targeting certain “proxies of Iran” such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas and that Israel “has no intention of asserting itself in the West Bank”.
“Because of the terrorist organization and the funds it receives from Iran, the Jenin camp has become a center for terrorist activity,” Cohen said.
However, according to BBC News, CBS News’ affiliate network, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh described the raid as “a new attempt to destroy the camp and evict its people.” “Our heroic people will face this aggression, which is taking place under the eyes of the international community, with planes bombing innocent people. Our people will not kneel or surrender and we will remain in confrontation until this criminal occupation is over.”
Separately, a Palestinian was killed Monday during a protest against the Jenin raid near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
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Haley Ott