Israeli Forces Withdraw from Jenin Refugee Camp After Week-Long Operation
Israeli forces have reportedly withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, ending a week-long military operation that left dozens dead and caused widespread destruction, The Associated Press reports.
Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian militancy.
The operation, which also targeted the Tulkarem and Al-Faraa refugee camps, was launched in response to recent attacks against Israeli civilians, which the Israeli military claimed had become increasingly sophisticated and deadly.
While Israeli troops have pulled out of the Tulkarem and Al-Faraa camps, the Israeli military maintains that the operation is not yet over.
“Israeli security forces are continuing to act to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation,” the military said in a statement.
The operation in Jenin, the deadliest in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began last October, involved hundreds of Israeli troops deploying what the United Nations called “lethal war-like tactics.” The intense fighting resulted in the deaths of 21 Palestinians, most of whom the Israeli military claims were militants.
The conflict has had a devastating impact on Palestinian civilians in Jenin. Water and electricity services were cut off, families were confined to their homes, and ambulances were hindered in their transportation of the wounded due to Israeli soldiers searching for militants. Israeli forces also deployed military bulldozers to rip up roads in search of buried explosives.
An Israeli military official admitted the infrastructure damage caused to the Jenin camp, saying that it was a result of militant tactics involving the placement of explosives in civilian areas.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, health workers resumed vaccinating children against polio, continuing the second phase of a large-scale immunization campaign. The initiative was prompted by the confirmation of the first polio case in 25 years, affecting a 10-month-old boy who is now paralyzed.
