Since Monday this week, a military operation has been underway in a refugee camp in Jenin on the West Bank. Now the Israeli Defense Force reports that the two-day operation is over. – All Israeli forces have been withdrawn from Jenin, and the military operation in the city on the occupied West Bank has ended, says the army’s spokesperson on Wednesday morning. Brigadier Daniel Hagari says all the objectives of the operation have been achieved, but that the army is on alert to be prepared for “anything that may happen”. – Israel failed and was defeated in Jenin, says the head of Hamas’s political department, Ismail Haniyeh, in a statement after the action is over. A total of 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier died in the fighting. At least 120 people have been injured, according to Palestinian sources. 2-day long “counter-terror operation” Early on Monday morning, the Israeli army entered the refugee camp in Jenin with drones and combat helicopters. The Israeli authorities called it all a “comprehensive counter-terror operation”. Smoke rises from Jenin during the Israeli military operation, which continued on Tuesday. Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP Exchanges of gunfire and explosions characterized both the city and the refugee camp, which is a core area for armed Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. Several militant groups are located there and call themselves the “Jenin Brigades”. The attack launched by Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing nationalist government is the biggest in nearly 20 years. Armored vehicles, bulldozers and drones were used. Israel attacked Gaza after rocket attack On the night of Wednesday, five rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip and towards Israeli territory. Israel’s air defense intercepted all the rockets. The Israeli Defense Forces responded with their own rockets. A Palestinian security source tells AFP that Israel has hit a military facility in the north of the Gaza Strip used by Hamas, but that no one was injured. – In response to the rockets that were fired earlier this evening, the IDF is now carrying out airstrikes against the Gaza Strip, says a statement. Israel holds Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, responsible for all attacks originating from the area – regardless of whether Hamaz is behind it or not. The Times of Israel writes. Netanyahu in Jenin Ahead of the rocket attacks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a military base on the outskirts of Jenin. Here he indicated that the military offensive, which is one of the most extensive in the occupied West Bank in 20 years, may be coming to an end. Thousands of civilians have fled the fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near the Salem military post between Israel and the West Bank. Photo: Reuters Netanyahu claims the attack on the refugee camp, where 12 Palestinians have been killed and over 100 wounded since Monday, is aimed at people “who want to wipe out Israel”. According to Netanyahu, however, the Israeli soldiers ensure that “the least possible damage to civilians” is done. The UN does not share that view. The UN is concerned – We are concerned about the scale of air and ground operations taking place in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and airstrikes hitting a densely populated refugee camp, says spokesperson Vanessa Huguenin at the UN Office for Emergency Relief (OCHA). According to her, three of the ten killed are minors. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced late on Monday evening that a 16-year-old and two 17-year-olds were among those killed. – First aid personnel have been prevented by Israeli forces from entering the Jenin camp to treat the critically wounded, says a spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO), Christian Lindmeier. According to Palestinian health authorities, there are many civilians among the more than 100 wounded, and the condition of 20 of them is described as critical. A wounded Palestinian is taken to hospital. At least eleven Palestinians have been killed and over 100 wounded in the Israeli attack on the refugee camp in Jenin Photo: Nasser Nasser / AP Armed resistance The Jenin camp houses close to 18,000 Palestinians in less than half a square kilometer. The Palestinian Red Crescent evacuated thousands of terrified residents from the fighting late on Monday night. Jenin’s mayor Nidal Al-Obeidi states that around 4,000 Palestinians have fled the camp and are now staying with relatives or in schools and other public buildings. The Israeli soldiers met heavy armed resistance from militant Palestinians when they moved into the narrow streets with armored bulldozers in the early hours of Monday, occupied houses and placed snipers on roofs. Israel also carried out at least 20 attacks with aircraft and drones, and both the water and electricity supplies in the camp have been destroyed. A Palestinian man waves a Palestinian and a Syrian flag in front of an Israeli military vehicle in the occupied Palestinian refugee camp Jenin on Tuesday Photo: Majdi Mohammed / AP Palestinian Authority Jenin is located in what the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinians defines as area A, where the Palestinians are to have civil and security self-government. Israeli soldiers nevertheless carry out regular attacks in these areas as well. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas refers to the attack on the refugee camp as a “war crime” and has announced that all security cooperation with Israel has been frozen for the time being. The Arab League has called an emergency meeting to discuss “an Arab mobilization to meet the Israeli attack on Jenin”. According to Israel, up to 2,000 soldiers are participating in the attack on the refugee camp in Jenin, which was also attacked by planes and drones on Monday. Photo: Ariel Schalit / AP Militant Palestinian groups are also threatening to respond to the attack, and on Tuesday eight people were injured in an attack when a Palestinian from the West Bank drove into a group of people in Tel Aviv. The man was shot dead by an armed Israeli after he got out of the car and allegedly started stabbing people with a sharp object. The condition is serious for five of the victims. Hamas claims the man was a member of the group and describes the car attack as a “natural response” to the Jenin attack.
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the military action in Jenin is over – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
