The Palestinian health ministry reports that Israeli soldiers killed at least 10 Palestinians and injured almost 40 others during a massive operation in the Jenin district of the occupied West Bank.
According to Palestinian media, numerous air strikes occurred on Tuesday as a huge number of forces entered the city and refugee camp, accompanied by drones, helicopters, and armoured bulldozers.
Israel’s prime minister said it initiated a “extensive and significant” operation to “defeat terrorism” in Jenin, which has long been seen as a hotbed of Palestinian armed groups.
It comes three days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza and highlights the threat of more violence in the West Bank, where suspected Israeli settlers also went on the rampage on Monday night.
Palestinian security personnel reportedly withdrew from some of their positions around Jenin refugee camp before the Israeli forces moved in.
The Palestinian health ministry reported on Tuesday evening that nine men and a 16-year-old boy, whom it named as Mutaz Abu Tbeikh, had been killed by Israeli forces in Jenin.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the Jenin operation – dubbed “Iron Wall” – was an “additional step in achieving the objective we have set: bolstering security” in the West Bank.
Israel accuses Iran of smuggling weapons and funds to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other armed groups in the West Bank to foment unrest.
The prime minister of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, Mohammed Mustafa, condemned the raid, saying it was the latest in a series of “aggressive Israeli measures” against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Wafa.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad both called on Palestinians in the West Bank to escalate attacks against Israeli forces in response to the Jenin operation.
There have been a number of previous Israeli military operations in Jenin.
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 on Monday night, dozens of masked Israeli extremists attacked Palestinians in two villages east of Qalqilya, Jinsafut and al-Funduq, setting fire to Palestinian homes and cars and smashing property.
At least 21 Palestinians were injured, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Two Israelis were also shot, apparently when an Israeli police officer opened fire while responding to the violence.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the incidents, during which it said Israeli civilians “instigated riots, set property on fire, and caused damage”. It also said they hurled stones and attacked Israeli security forces.
The reversal of the Biden administration’s sanctions targeting radical Israelis, could indicate the direction for the new White House that is expected to be more tolerant of Jewish settlement expansion.
There are also rising tensions over the large-scale release of Palestinian prisoners in the West Bank this week, as part of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
According to the Israeli anti-settlement group, Peace Now, in 2024 settlers also established 59 new outposts, without authorisation from the Israeli government. That was more than double the number from the previous year – which was also a record year for settlement outpost establishment.
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 – as did the previous Trump administration.
