Overnight, the Israeli army has launched a major operation in the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River. According to the military, in the northern cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, considered bastions of the militant Palestinians, anti-terrorist operations are being carried out. Newspaper "Times of Israel" it says that Israeli units are also launching attacks against a refugee camp.
Five people from the camp died, as did two in Jenin, according to the West Bank health ministry. Three more were killed in a drone attack on their vehicle south of Jenin.
Blocked cities and besieged hospitals
The media reports that the army has sent many infantrymen to the area, used drones and snipers, destroyed infrastructure with bulldozers and blocked all roads to Jenin. The Israeli news site ynet claims that wanted persons have been arrested in the refugee neighborhoods of Jenin and Tulkarem.
The Arab television "Al Jazeera" reports that the city of Jenin is completely blocked by the Israeli military. Both there and in Tulkarem, there were besieged hospitals and blocked ambulances. The army controlled access to the clinic buildings to prevent paramilitary Palestinians from taking refuge there, ynet reports.
"With all forces against the "Islamic-Iranian terrorist network"
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Platform X: "From this night on, the Israeli army is operating with all its forces in the refugee camps in Jenin and Tulkarem against the Islamist-Iranian terrorist network". Iran worked to "build an eastern terrorist front against Israel in the West Bank by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons through Jordan, similar to the situation in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon".
The "Islamic Jihad" group, an ally of the Palestinian organization Hamas, designated as terrorist by a number of countries, condemned the "massive aggression against the cities and camps in the northern part of the occupied West Bank". According to the group, Israel is "seeking to shift the burden of the conflict onto the occupied West Bank" with the intention of "annexing".
According to the "Times of Israel" the operation can last for days.
Bilyana Mihailova (editor)