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Israeli forces launch biggest military operation in West Bank’s Jenin since 2002

By Kareem Khadder, Eyad Kourdi, Hadas Gold, AnneClaire Stapleton, Alex Stambaugh and Helen Regan, CNN

Updated 7:50 PM EDT, Mon July 3, 2023

02:22 - Source: CNN

Video shows Israeli bulldozers tearing up streets in Jenin

CNN

 — 

Israeli forces launched what a military source said is its largest military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin in more than 20 years, killing at least eight people and injuring about 100 others, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement it launched the ongoing “extensive counterterrorism effort in the area of the city of Jenin and the Jenin Camp,” striking “terrorist infrastructure.”

The IDF carried out around 10 airstrikes using drones, and hundreds of soldiers targeted what it said was militant “command and control” center as well as weapons and explosive manufacturing sites.

Videos obtained by CNN from Jenin show Israeli bul ldozers tearing up streets to disarm potential explosives, as well as Israeli tanks outside the city limits.

Residents told CNN there were explosions and heavy gunfire in the area, while video from the scene showed wounded Palestinians being evacuated by ambulance to Jenin Government Hospital.

Hundreds of Palestinian families fled the area amid the destruction; Jenin deputy mayor Mohammed Jarrar said homes and infrastructure had been destroyed, cutting off electricity and water in the refugee camp.

Five of those killed in the attack were teenagers, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said. A ninth Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces near Ramallah in the West Bank in a separate incident, according to the health authorities.

IDF chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told 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 injured, but insisted the operation only meant to target “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 said.

The raid sparked immediate condemnation. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the large-scale Israeli military operation “a new war crime.”

Raneen Sawafta/Reuters

Tires were set on fire on a street during the attacks on Jenin.

“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 said, according to presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military 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 said at a US embassy event in Jerusalem on Monday evening.

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

Humanitarian access

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland has said he was in direct contact with all relevant parties to urgently de-escalate the situation in Jenin and ensure humanitarian access.

“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 said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said crews were prevented from operating within the camp, according to 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 said.

The international medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also accused Israeli forces of impeding access 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 said.

The military operation has not only caused casualties but also disrupted health structures, impeding the medical response, according to the MSF statement.

“We’ve been working for 15 hours and patients keep coming in,” said Jovana Arsenijevic, MSF operations coordinator in Jenin. “This is Settings