After the two-day operation, which claimed the lives of 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier, the Israeli army said that it had withdrew forces from the Jenin refugee camp.
Israeli army end raid in Jenin: In addition to drone strikes and army bulldozers tearing up streets, the raid in the West Bank was Israel’s largest military action in years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to conduct comparable operations if necessary prior to the disengagement.
He remarked during a visit to a military post outside of Jenin, “At these moments we are concluding the mission, and I can say that our extensive operation in Jenin is not a one-off. “We will eradicate terrorism wherever we see it, and we will strike at it.”
The army reported that it launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday after intercepting five rockets aimed towards Israeli territory.
According to a Palestinian security source, the attack in northern Gaza targeted a Hamas military facility but left no one hurt.
In another incident, a car ramming and stabbing attack occurred in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. The suspect was shot dead in the process.
The army claimed that during the Jenin attack, it had found terrorist hideouts, weapons caches, and an explosives-storage shaft.
The worst raid in the last five years, according to Qasem Benighader, a nurse in a hospital mortuary.
The army claimed that its troops had destroyed six explosives manufacturing sites, three operational situation rooms, and seized a sizable number of weaponry in Jenin.
The report mentioned that the authorities discovered the weapons in trucks, a mosque, covert pits hidden in residential areas, and operational situation rooms.
“Closed off to the world”
The Palestinian foreign ministry described the increase as “open war against the people of Jenin.”
Doctors Without Borders, a medical aid organisation, also criticised Israeli forces for using tear gas inside Jenin’s Khalil Suleiman Hospital, calling it “unacceptable.”
Mai al-Kaila, the minister of health for the Palestinian Authority, even claimed that the army had opened fire on Palestinians in the Jenin public hospital’s courtyard.
The minister reported to reporters that Israeli forces had invaded the Ibn Sina hospital. The minister further added, “Israel’s aggression reached its climax this afternoon when they directly shot at citizens in the courtyard of Jenin hospital, resulting in three injuries, two of them serious.”
According to the Israeli army, there were reports on social media that soldiers had fired at a hospital.
The statement continued, “Terrorist organisations have used civilian areas as a hideout,” adding that “security forces are not currently aware of the reports.”
During a general strike, the closure of shops in Jenin resulted in nearly deserted streets strewn with burning roadblocks and garbage.
“The most dangerous is what happened inside the camp, where there is no electricity, no water, and no roads for those who need to go to the hospital,” Jenin Mayor Nidal Abu Saleh said to AFP.
“Violence Escalates in Jenin Refugee Camp: Thousands Flee Amidst Attacks and Demolitions”
Since the attack started, 3,000 people have left their houses in the refugee camp, according to Kamal Abu al-Roub, the deputy governor of Jenin.
Imad Jabarin, one of the individuals escaping the demolished camp, expressed, “We have witnessed the destruction of all facets of life, including the absence of electricity, communication, and a sense of isolation from the outside world.”
Attacks on Israelis and violence by Jewish settlers against Palestinians have both increased recently in the northern West Bank.
Since early last year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has deteriorated, with the Netanyahu administration, which includes allies on the extreme right, exacerbating the situation further.
As “an initial response to crimes against our people in the Jenin camp,” Hamas praised the “heroic” Tel Aviv strike.
Police in Tel Aviv believe the driver purposefully ran over a number of pedestrians on a busy roadway before getting out to “stab civilians with a sharp object.”
According to police commander Yaakov Shabtai, an armed bystander killed the “terrorist” who was identified as a citizen of the West Bank.
Strengthening communities
The violence in Jenin and Tel Aviv was condemned by the UN.
Volker Turk, the UN’s senior human rights official, stated that “the killing, maiming, and destruction of property must stop.”
Protesters torched tyres close to the Israeli border barrier in the Gaza Strip, which Israel has encircled and blockaded.
Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has held the West Bank under occupation.
Around 490,000 Israelis currently reside there, excluding east Jerusalem, in settlements that violate international law.
The Palestinians, who aspire to have their own sovereign state, demand that Israel leave all of the territory it annexed in 1967 and remove all Jewish settlements.
However, Netanyahu has vowed to “strengthen settlements” and has shown no interest in resuming peace negotiations, which have been deadlocked since 2014.
According to an AFP count collated by official sources on both sides, at least 190 Palestinians, 26 Israelis, one Ukrainian, and one Italian have died this year.
On the Palestinian side, there are both combatants and civilians, and on the Israeli side, there are mainly civilians and three Arab minorities.