By MEE staff.
Israel has launched a large-scale military campaign in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin early Monday, conducting air strikes on several buildings as armoured vehicles advanced towards its refugee camp.
At least three Palestinians were killed and 27 wounded, with seven in serious condition, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Medics say casualties are likely much higher but paramedics aren’t able to reach some areas because Israeli bulldozers are blocking them.
According to local media, an official at the Jenin Governmental Hospital said: “We have not received this number of serious injuries since 2002.”
The operation started around 1 am local time (11 pm GMT) when several homes in Jenin were bombed from the air.
At least 15 air strikes have been carried out since, according to Israeli news website Ynet.
A Jenin resident told Middle East Eye the buildings shelled by Israeli air force belonged to civilians, including the Freedom Theatre, a popular cultural centre in the city.
Mahmoud al-Saadi, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Jenin, told AFP there was “bombing from the air and an invasion from the ground.”
“Several houses and sites have been bombed…. smoke is rising from everywhere.”
Scenes from Israeli airstrikes on Jenin refugee camp! pic.twitter.com/BCpp0cHwnZ
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) July 2, 2023
Hafeth Abu Surrah, an eyewitness from Jenin refugee camp, described scenes of horror in the city’s street.
He said Israeli forces were destroying infrastructure and public property as snipers stationed inside armoured vehicles and on rooftops, firing live rounds at unarmed Palestinians standing at the entrance of the camp.
“Two civilians were directly hit in front me,” Abu Surrah told MEE as sound of sniper gunshots were heard in the background during the interview.
He said one on them was seriously wounded in the head from sniper’s bullet and that he likely died one his way to the hospital, although Palestinian health officials have not confirmed his death.
“He just stood there doing nothing. He was not armed and wasn’t even throwing rocks at the armoured vehicles,” Abu Surrah said.
He added that the camp’s entrances and alleyways are besieged from every direction, making movement very difficult for civilians stuck inside.
The Israeli military said in a statement it was conducting a “focused” and “extensive counterterrorism effort” in the Jenin area.
Military Spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters they “did not come to occupy the refugee camp” and that the operation was not targeting Palestinian Authority (PA).
A military source said more than 1,000 soldiers are involved in the operation, including members of the army and the air force, according to Israeli news website Walla.
The Jenin Brigades, the most prominent armed ground in the city established in 2021, said in a statement it was responding with a counter operation aimed at stopping the Israeli advance into Jenin.
Heavy armed clashes and large blasts were heard throughout the city, including in the Jenin refugee camp, as Israeli troops encircled the area.
تغطية صحفية: "لحظة تفجير جرافة عسكرية لجيش الاحتلال على مدخل مخيم جنين". pic.twitter.com/wVtHvHvPjl
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 3, 2023
Translation: The moment an explosive detonated targeting an Israeli army bulldozer.
Several explosive devices planted by Palestinians were detonated, likely targeting Israeli army vehicles. No Israeli casualties have been reported.
Local media said Israeli armoured bulldozers were advancing towards the Jenin refugee camp, tearing apart streets to clear them of potential bombs planted on roadsides. Some Israeli tanks were spotted on the outskirts of Jenin.
Unarmed civilians in Jenin also took to the streets to confront Israeli troops, burning tyres and throwing rocks at army vehicles.
Israeli bulldozers continue to destroy streets and vehicles around and inside Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/Y5sYnZk9At
— Palestine Highlights (@PalHighlight) July 3, 2023
Palestinian factions have condemned the operation and said Israel bears the responsibility for the escalation.
The Palestinian Joint Command, an umbrella body of armed factions in Gaza, released a statement saying the Palestinian resistance “everywhere” will “not allow” Israel to isolate Jenin in its aggression.
“The nature of the Palestinian resistance’s response will be determined by the conduct of the occupation and the scale of the operation,” it said in a statement.
According to the Israeli army radio, the military has deployed Iron Dome batteries in preparation for possible rockets from Gaza or Lebanon.
Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement that Israel was committing a “new war crime against our defenceless people.”
Commenting on the operation, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “We will take an offensive approach against terrorism – anyone who harms the citizens of Israel will pay a heavy price.”
Jenin has been the subject of increased deadly Israeli attacks for the past two years.
At least 100 Palestinians from the northern West Bank city have been killed since 2022.
The latest Israeli raid two weeks killed at least six people but faced fierce Palestinian resistance, forcing the military to deploy Apache attack helicopters to evacuate Israeli military vehicles stuck for hours in an ambush set by local fighters.
Two days later, an Israeli drone killed three Palestinians near Jenin, in the first aerial attack in the occupied West Bank in nearly 20 years.
The Jenin camp, which lies at the heart of the city, is half a square kilometre in size and home to some 13,000 refugees.
In 2002 at the peak of the Second Intifada, Israel launched a 10-day military campaign in the city that killed at least 52 Palestinians and laid waste to its camps, destroying hundreds of civilian homes and displacing thousands.
This is a developing story…
Source: Middle East Eye. 3 July 2023