JENIN, Palestinian Territories: The Israeli military on Monday said it had “eliminated over 15 terrorists” and arrested 40 wanted people during a major raid that began last week in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The raid began two days after a truce took hold in the Gaza Strip, seeking to put an end to more than 15 months of the Israel-Hamas war that ravaged the Palestinian coastal territory.
The military said in a statement that during the Jenin operation troops seized dozens of weapons and “located an explosive device hidden inside a washing machine in one of the buildings in Jenin.”
Soldiers “also dismantled dozens of explosives planted beneath roads intended to attack troops,” it said.
During another operation, “an observation command center was located, containing gas canisters intended for manufacturing explosive devices,” it said.
Backed by bulldozers and warplanes, the military launched last Tuesday its “Iron Wall” operation in Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp, militant strongholds frequently targeted in Israeli raids.
AFP images on Monday showed Israeli troops still in the area, and black smoke rising over the camp.
Salim Al-Saadi, a member of the Jenin camp’s management committee, told AFP that 80 percent of its residents had fled since the raid began.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on its website that more than 24,000 refugees were registered in the camp in 2023, though the actual population is not known.
AFP pictures on Thursday showed rows of women, men and children filing out of the camp, some of them carrying their belongings in bags, accompanied by Palestine Red Crescent ambulances.
A number of Palestinian officials reported that Israel had ordered residents to leave the camp, but the military denied this.
The Palestinian health ministry had earlier reported that the Israeli operation killed at least 12 Palestinians and injured 40 more around Jenin.
Violence has soared throughout the West Bank since the war between Hamas and Israel broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 860 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the health ministry.
At least 29 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids in the territory over the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.
Israel says ‘eliminated’ 15 Palestinians in Jenin raid
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Israel says ‘eliminated’ 15 Palestinians in Jenin raid
- A number of Palestinian officials reported that Israel had ordered residents to leave the camp, but the military denied this
UN force in Lebanon says peacekeeper wounded by Israeli fire
- UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line”
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said an Israeli attack near their position in the country’s south wounded a peacekeeper on Friday, reiterating a call for Israel to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“This morning, heavy machine gunfire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions south of the Blue Line impacted close to a UNIFIL patrol inspecting a roadblock in the village of Bastarra. The gunfire followed a grenade explosion nearby,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The force added that “the sound of the gunfire and the explosion left one peacekeeper slightly injured with ear concussion.”
Also on Friday, UNIFIL said “another patrol carrying out a routine operational task also reported machine gunfire from the Israeli side in immediate proximity to their position” in Kfarshuba, south Lebanon.
The peacekeeping force said it had informed the Israel army of its activities in these areas.
Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
Last month it said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of Security Council resolution 1701,” the peacekeeping force added, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line.”
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
