Jenin: Israeli forces launch biggest raid on West Bank city in more than 20 years

CNN
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Israeli forces launched what a army supply stated is its largest army operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in more than 20 years, killing not less than eight folks and injuring about 100 others, based on Palestinian officers.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated in a press release it launched the continued “extensive counterterrorism effort in the area of the city of Jenin and the Jenin Camp,” placing “terrorist infrastructure.”

The IDF carried out round 10 airstrikes utilizing drones, and tons of of troopers focused what it stated was militant “command and control” heart in addition to weapons and explosive manufacturing websites.

Videos obtained by CNN from Jenin present Israeli bulldozers tearing up streets to disarm potential explosives, in addition to Israeli tanks outdoors the city limits.

Residents informed CNN there have been explosions and heavy gunfire in the world, whereas video from the scene confirmed wounded Palestinians being evacuated by ambulance to Jenin Government Hospital.

Hundreds of Palestinian households fled the world amid the destruction; Jenin deputy mayor Mohammed Jarrar stated properties and infrastructure had been destroyed, slicing off electrical energy and water in the refugee camp.

Five of these killed in the assault had been youngsters, the Palestinian Ministry of Health stated. A ninth Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces close to Ramallah in the West Bank in a separate incident, based on the well being authorities.

IDF chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari informed reporters that “until now there are only eight terrorists the dead” in Jenin and that “no non-combatants that have died as far as we know.”

Hagari did acknowledge that civilians are among the many injured, however insisted the operation solely meant to focus on “terrorists.” “It’s not an invasion on Jenin, it’s not against the Palestinian Authority. It’s not against innocent, innocent Palestinians. It’s against terrorists in this camp,” he stated.

The raid sparked rapid condemnation. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas referred to as the large-scale Israeli army operation “a new war crime.”

“Security and stability will not be achieved in the region unless our Palestinian people feel it. What the Israeli occupation government is doing in the city of Jenin and its camp is a new war crime against our defenseless people,” he stated, based on presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

Egypt additionally condemned the Israeli incursion, calling it an act of “aggression.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the army acted “against terrorist strongholds in Jenin.”

“In recent months, Jenin has become a safe haven for terrorists from that safe haven. Terrorists perpetrated savage attacks, murdering Israeli civilians, men, women, and children, as many children as they could find,” Netanyahu stated at a US embassy occasion in Jerusalem on Monday night.

“As I speak, our troops are battling the terrorists with unyielding resolve and fortitude while doing everything, everything to avoid civilian casualties.”

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland has stated he was in direct contact with all related events to urgently de-escalate the scenario in Jenin and guarantee humanitarian entry.

“The operation comes after months of growing tension that once again reminds us of the extremely volatile & unpredictable situation across the occupied West Bank. All must ensure the civilian population is protected,” Wennesland stated.

The Palestinian Red Crescent stated crews had been prevented from working throughout the camp, based on the director of the Palestinian Red Crescent society in Jenin, Mahmoud al-Saadi.

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“The ambulance crews managed to evacuate a number of the injured they were able to access. The paramedic crews were brought from other governorates to provide help,” al-Saadi stated.

The worldwide medical assist group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) additionally accused Israeli forces of impeding entry to medical care in Jenin.

“MSF staff have been treating patients since 2 a.m. local time at Khalil Suleiman hospital, where several gas canisters landed in the courtyard during the attack. So far, staff have received 55 wounded patients, including people with gunshot wounds to their heads and some who were hit with tear gas canisters,” MSF stated.

The army operation has not solely brought about casualties but additionally disrupted well being constructions, impeding the medical response, based on the MSF assertion.

“We’ve been working for 15 hours and patients keep coming in,” stated Jovana Arsenijevic, MSF operations coordinator in Jenin. “This is an unprecedentedly long military operation, and yet there are still victims that cannot be reached.”

“Raids on Jenin camp have started to follow a familiar pattern. For example, ambulances have been rammed by armored cars, and patients and health care staff have routinely been denied entry and exit in the camp,” Arsenijevic additionally stated.

The IDF refuted claims that ambulance crews confronted obstacles, with Hagari saying vehicles had been denied motion throughout the camp, however that ambulances “have a free pass”.

The director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the West Bank, Adam Bouloukos, stated the Israeli operation and the response of “armed actors” in Jenin has “tragic consequences” for Palestinian refugees.

“Humanitarian access is most urgent now,” Bouloukos stated on Twitter.

The White House can also be “closely” monitoring the scenario in Israel, a National Security Council spokesperson informed CNN.

The spokesperson added broadly, “We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups.”

IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht informed reporters Monday one of many objectives of the operation was to interrupt the “safe haven” mentality throughout the Jenin camp for militants, based on Hecht, who described it as a “hornet’s nest.”

“We’re not trying to hold the ground. We’re acting against specific targets,” Hecht stated.

The first spherical of airstrikes had been launched at 1:14 a.m. native time and had been adopted by IDF floor forces, Hecht stated.

Some 50 capturing assaults towards Israelis have emanated from Jenin, he stated.

Hecht additionally stated the Palestinian Authority and Jordan had been knowledgeable in regards to the incursion in advance, however didn’t elaborate additional.

Though the IDF spokesman declined to remark on the variety of forces concerned, he stated it’s round a brigade, which is roughly equal to not less than 500 troopers.

A spokesman stated later an Israeli soldier was “slightly injured” by shrapnel from a grenade used in the course of the incursion, and that they’d been taken to a hospital for medical therapy.

The IDF stated it struck a joint operational command heart for the Jenin Camp and operatives of the Jenin Brigade, a Palestinian militant group related to Islamic Jihad.

“The operational command center also served as an advanced observation and reconnaissance center, a place where armed terrorists would gather before and after terrorist activities,” the IDF stated, including that the camp was a “site for weapons and explosives” and “hub for coordination and communication among the terrorists.”

“Additionally, the command center provided shelter for wanted individuals involved in carrying out terror attacks in recent months in the area,” it stated.

The IDF later stated its forces focused a weapons manufacturing and explosive gadget storage facility and confiscated an “improvised rocket launcher” and extra weapons in the course of the operations, which had been carried out in coordination with the Israel Securities Authority (ISA).

Later on Monday, an IDF plane struck close to a mosque “to remove a threat” whereas troopers engaged in a firefight with militants based on the IDF, with out elaborating on the character of the “threat.” The IDF later stated tunnels and weapons had been discovered below the mosque.

Military bulldozers tore up streets in the camp, which the IDF stated was to disarm potential explosive units buried below the roads.

In response to Monday’s assaults, Hamas referred to as on militants in the West Bank and Jerusalem to strike Israel “by all available means,” a press release by its army wing stated.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad stated it would “perform its duty” in stopping the “massacre” in Jenin.

Monday afternoon, Israeli police reported a Palestinian teenager stabbed an Israeli man in Bnei Brak, outdoors of Tel Aviv. Israeli police stated the teenager claimed “he stabbed the person in response to the events in Jenin.” The Israeli man was injured and moved to hospital.

The Jenin Brigade claimed it had severely broken not less than one Israeli army car with improvised explosive units and its militants proceed to conflict with Israeli forces “to prevent its advance inside the camp.”

Palestinian Islamic Jihad stated it would face its enemy “with all possible retaliation options,” in response to the Israeli operations in Jenin.

“The aggression on Jenin will not achieve its targets, Jenin will not surrender. We will face the enemy with all possible retaliation options in response to the enemy aggression on Jenin,” the militant group posted to its official Telegram channel.

As evening fell, more than 500 Palestinian households started leaving the refugee camp, the Palestinian Red Crescent stated, out of concern of what the following hours would deliver.

Hagari informed reporters the operation will finish throughout the “next day or two.”

“It won’t be the last time we act,” he warned. “We act when we have intelligence. We act against terror before it happens, or we act after terror activities in order to reach the terrorists.”