Israeli military officially ends two-day operation in Jenin
July 5, 2023
The Israeli army has withdrawn its troops from the refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin, Israeli officials said early on Wednesday.
"The operation is officially over and the soldiers have left the Jenin area," a spokesperson for the Israeli military said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the two-day operation — the largest in the West Bank in around two decades — targeted militants based in the Jenin refugee camp. Jenin is a center for multiple armed Palestinian groups.
The IDF said its troops dismantled six explosives manufacturing facilities and three situation rooms in the area and also confiscated large quantities of weapons.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 12 Palestinians were killed during the operation and more than 100 others were wounded. Israel's army said one Israeli soldier was also killed by gunfire
Palestinian officials called the operation an "open war against the people of Jenin," AFP reported.
Israel strikes Gaza after militants fire rockets
During the IDF's withdrawal from Jenin overnight, militants from the Gaza Strip fired five rockets towards Israel.
Israeli officials said the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system and there were no reports of casualties.
Israeli jets struck an underground weapons manufacturing facility in Gaza in response, the IDF said.
"In response to the rockets launched earlier tonight, the IDF is currently striking in the Gaza Strip," the Israeli army said in a statement early on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, a militant in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv rammed a car into a group of people at a bus stop. The militant then began stabbing bystanders until he was shot dead by an armed civilian.
Seven people were wounded in the attack. Unconfirmed reports in the Israeli media said a pregnant woman had lost her baby.
Islamist militant organization Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist group by Israel, the US, the EU, Germany and several other countries, said the car-ramming incident was revenge for the Israeli army's operation in Jenin.
zc/wd (AP, Reuters, AFP, dpa)