At least 10 Palestinians lost their lives as Israel’s operation in Jenin entered its second day, with a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Tuesday that the action would come to a halt soon.
Al Jazeera reported that over 1,000 Israeli soldiers and commandoes backed by air attacks launched a raid on the Jenin refugee camp early on Monday during which about 100 people sustained injuries.
The raid, deadliest in two decades, prompted concerns over humanitarian conditions from the United States and the United Nations and also forced the Palestinian administration to suspend contacts with Israel.
The operation at the Jenin refugee camp, codenamed “Home and Garden”, has been initiated to “uproot Iranian-backed Palestinian armed factions, according to Israel, Reuters reported.
The armed factions, the Israeli forces claim, are responsible for gun and bomb attacks as well as preliminary efforts to manufacture rockets.
While violence continued, at least six drones were seen circling over the city and the adjoining camp, which is densely packed and houses around 14,000 people in less than half a square kilometre, according to Daily Sabah.
“What is going on in the refugee camp is real war,” said Palestinian ambulance driver, Khaled Alahmad. “There were strikes from the sky targeting the camp, every time we drive in around five to seven ambulances and we come back full with injured people.”
The Palestinian health ministry said that the death toll had risen to 10 after an overnight death of a person who succumbed to injuries at a hospital, while 100 were wounded, 20 of them critically.
The operation “is close to completing the achievement of the goals set,” Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanebi told Kan radio after a relative lull in the clashes overnight.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had evacuated 500 families, or around 3,000 people, from the camp, which has been one of the focal points of a wave of violence that has swept the occupied West Bank for more than a year.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said it is deeply concerned over the damage inflicted by Israel’s assault on the densely populated Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
While aid groups demanded Israel ensure humanitarian access, the US said it respected Israel’s right to defend itself but noted that civilian casualties should be avoided. The UN said all military operations should respect international law.
