Ramallah: Israel launched a massive military operation in the occupied West Bank with droves of helicopters and drones on Wednesday, killing at least nine Palestinians and sealing off the city of Jenin, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials. This operation followed a series of smaller raids in the area over recent weeks as Israeli forces sought to crush groups of fighters from Palestinian militant groups.
The Israeli offensive in the West Bank comes as ceasefire negotiations mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza have failed to make a breakthrough last week, as discussions last week ended without success. The operation underscored multiple security threats Israel faces as it is battling Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The armed wings of the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah factions said in separate statements their gunmen were detonating bombs against Israeli military vehicles in the three West Bank areas. The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli troops had surrounded Jenin's main hospital, blocking off access with earth mounds - a measure the military said was intended to stop fighters seeking refuge.
All deceased Palestinians were militants
Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said “large forces” had entered the volatile city of Jenin and killed nine, all of them militants. Three were killed in an airstrike in Tulkarem and another four in an airstrike in Al-Faraa. Shoshani said another five suspected militants were arrested, and that the raids were the first stage of an even larger operation aimed at preventing attacks on Israeli civilians.
Military jeeps and bulldozers entered the camp and soldiers could be seen patrolling its alleyways on foot as shots rang out every few minutes. By mid-day, occasional explosions could be heard in a heavily built township in Jenin, although the rest of the city was relatively quiet.
Shoshani said the operation was the result of an uptick in militant activities in recent months, with over 150 attacks involving shooting or explosives from Tulkarm and Jenin in the past year. He said the military assessed there was an "immediate threat" to civilians but he said the operation was part of a broad strategy aimed at thwarting attacks. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has also called for dealing with the threats in the West Bank with the same strategy as in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Hamas called on Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up, saying the raids are part of a larger plan to expand the war in Gaza and blaming the escalation on US support for Israel. The militant group called on security forces loyal to the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, which cooperates with Israel, to “join the sacred battle of our people."
Israeli raids in West Bank
Meanwhile, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the raids as a “serious escalation” and called on the United States to intervene, according to the official Palestinian news agency. The health ministry identified two killed in Jenin as Qassam Jabarin, 25, and Asem Balout, 39.
Israel has stepped up operations in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, while Jewish settlers have also launched frequent vigilante-style attacks on Palestinian communities. Thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in raids and more than 660 - fighters and civilians - have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the war began. At least 30 Israelis have been killed in attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank during the period, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war, all three territories demanded by the Palestinians for a future state. Israel has built scores of settlements across the West Bank, which are home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers, who have Israeli citizenship, while the three million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule.
(with inputs from agencies)
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