Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attack marked a “change in…security strategy” in the West Bank, with Israeli forces surrounding a Palestinian government hospital in Jenin and a refugee camp near the city center. did.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday that it had carried out airstrikes and detonated roadside explosives in Jenin. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least 10 people were killed and more than 40 injured in Jenin.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that ambulances were unable to reach many of the dead and injured lying on the streets around the Jenin refugee camp.
“No one can break the siege of the refugee camps and surrounding areas,” said Nebal Farsak, a spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Her medics treated seven dead and 17 wounded, all of whom were wounded by live ammunition, she added.
Israeli attacks on Jenin have escalated and continue despite a recent ceasefire in Gaza, marking the 15th month of Israeli attacks on the area since Hamas’ attacks on Israeli towns and kibbutzim around Gaza on October 7. The attack was temporarily suspended.
Less than a week after the ceasefire in Gaza went into effect, the Israeli military signaled the start of a new military operation across the West Bank.
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Wissam Bakr, director of Jenin’s Khalil Suleiman Public Hospital, said: Israeli forces destroyed the road in front of the hospital. They placed debris from the destroyed road in front of the hospital exit to prevent ambulances from getting in and out. ”
He estimated that 600 medical staff and patients were evacuated inside the hospital, crammed gingerly into beds, chairs and spaces everywhere. Hospital food and water supplies will last only a few days. He said the sounds of Israeli drones could be heard and people flocking to the hospital were frightened.
He added that two nurses and three doctors were shot on Tuesday on the main road leading to the hospital.
“Until now the Israeli army is outside,” Bakr said, sending an image of an Israeli bulldozer appearing to clear some of the rubble at the entrance to the hospital complex. As he spoke, gunshots could be heard intermittently over the phone.
The escalation in Jenin came as Israeli forces used checkpoints to block access to Palestinian cities across the West Bank. Early Wednesday morning, Israeli forces also launched raids on Aida refugee camps north of Bethlehem and Turkum. Palestinian news agency Wafa said at least 29 people were arrested across the West Bank on Wednesday morning, most of them young people.
A committee within the Palestine Liberation Organization that tracks Israeli activities in the territory reported that the IDF has increased the number of military checkpoints and iron gates, reaching almost 900. The Israeli military did not comment on the exact number of new checkpoints.
The country’s international spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, said at a press conference on Wednesday:
“Checkpoints are a tool we use in the fight against terrorism, allowing the movement of civilians while providing a layer of cover to prevent terrorists from escaping and disrupting operations.
“This approach is much better than completely sealing off an area or allowing terrorists to move unrestricted. During operations, certain checkpoints are usually set up to prevent terrorists from escaping. This method is essential for balancing freedom of movement and safety.”
Ashir Baydoun, a Palestinian medical aid official, said from Ramallah. “We have been experiencing a massive military blockade for two days. The Israeli army has set up hundreds of new checkpoints, making movement between towns and cities almost impossible. The average delay is reported to be 6 to 8 hours.
“People are stuck in their towns and cities and can’t go to work,” she says. “This is an open-air prison. We feel unable to move around. Even if we want to go from Ramallah to Jericho, it is impossible, and even going to nearby villages is almost impossible. Movement is restricted. Not only that, but there are also insane attacks from settlers.”
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Shoshani called the military operation across the West Bank “a precision operation that targets and fights terrorists while allowing civilians to continue with their lives.”
Despite Jenin Mayor Mohammad Jalal telling Wafa that Israeli forces had used loudspeakers to urge residents of some areas of Jenin to evacuate, Shoshani said all reports about forced evacuations were “fake news. ” I decided that it was.
“We must learn from October 7 and not allow terrorist groups to regroup, rearm and plan attacks hundreds of meters from us,” Shoshani said.
Wafa reported that Israeli forces also raided several towns around Ramallah and El-Bireh, but there was no mention of any arrests or clashes.
On Tuesday, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said: “Following Gaza and Lebanon, today, with God’s help, we are redefining the security concept of Judea and Samaria and the security concept of the movement against terrorism in the region. “I’ve started to change,” he said. The Israelis use the Biblical name for the West Bank.
However, Professor Yagir Levi of the Open University of Israel said: “There is no operational justification for the actions in the West Bank.”
A recent operation by the Palestinian Authority targeting Hamas in Jenin has been controversial for its perceived support of Israeli objectives in the region, but it does not allow the authorities to maintain control of Jenin and the Gaza Strip. He said that it shows.
Levy said Israel’s decision to launch a military operation in Jenin undermines the Palestinian Authority and the possibility of a return to Gaza, destabilizes the West Bank and secretly annexed its territory. He said the aim was to continue and “appease Smotrich and his party.”
“I called for Israel’s war goals in Gaza to include fighting in the West Bank,” Smotrich said. In return, he accepted the first stage of the hostage trade and refrained from overthrowing the government. ”
The United Nations Office for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OHCHR) said: “Official statements by Israeli military officials raise concerns about Israeli plans to expand and intensify operations in the occupied West Bank.” .
Israel’s attack on Jenin also comes amid an increase in settler violence across the West Bank, amid signs that settlers are targeting villages where Palestinian prisoners were released as part of a cease-fire agreement and hostage exchange. are.
Israeli settlers set fire to vehicles and property in villages around Qalqilya in the northern West Bank and in Turmus Aya near Ramallah.
Attacks by Israeli settlers have injured more than 21 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including three children.
Late Wednesday, the Israeli military announced it had killed an Islamic Jihad militant in the Gaza Strip. This is the first death reported since the ceasefire began in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Ministry of Health confirmed one death and four others injured.
As Palestinians in the Gaza Strip return to their homes, Gaza medical staff say about 200 bodies have been removed from beneath the rubble since a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel took effect on Sunday.
Mahmoud Bassal, Gaza’s civil defense chief, estimates that the bodies of around 10,000 Palestinians killed during the conflict have not yet been found or buried.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 46,700 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health. The war began after a cross-border attack on Israel by Hamas, in which the militants killed about 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.
