ByNews Desk- The Cradle
Over 1,000 Israeli troops have sealed off the Jenin refugee camp as part of the 'open ended' operation which is expected to last for at least 48 hours
Jenin Invasion |
Scenes this morning pic.twitter.com/GrsFLMxIbo
— Younis | يونس (@ytirawi) July 3, 2023
Eight have been killed so far, and over two dozen injured “in a major ongoing Israeli army air and land assault on the northern West Bank city of Jenin,” Palestinian news agency WAFA said, citing local and medical sources.
A drastic situation unfolding in Jenin. There are images circulating of piled up bodies of Palestinians.
This is an all out massacre of Palestinians living umder occupation, designed to satisfy the pogromist settler population of Israel. pic.twitter.com/BwUIGs0GgL
— Jalal (@JalalAK_jojo) July 3, 2023
Over 1,000 Israeli soldiers took part in the storming of Jenin. Tanks and special forces were deployed, and over 10 drone strikes were launched on the city in what is being called the largest operation in the West Bank since the Battle of Jenin during the Second Intifada in 2002.
The Jenin Brigade of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades has dubbed the battle “Fury of Jenin.”
In Jenin camp, mounds have been dug, infrastructure destroyed, and streets blockaded by Israeli army bulldozers, with the aim of preventing ambulances from reaching the injured. Clashes are ongoing.
The Israeli occupation's continuing aggression on Jenin refugee camp in pictures pic.twitter.com/jdEGJHRilu
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 3, 2023
Sources in the Jenin resistance have told Al-Mayadeen that the Israeli army has so far been unable to storm the camp, adding that “they are only operating on the outskirts.”
The fighters of the Jenin Brigade, as well as fighters from the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and other groups, put up a massive joint resistance effort to the Israeli incursion, targeting the army with bullets and explosive devices. At least one Israeli soldier has been injured.
The Jenin Brigade has also announced the introduction of new explosives on the battlefield, including the Tariq-1 explosive device, named after the late Tariq al-Damj, a member of the brigade’s engineering unit.
Two Israeli drones were also shot down by the fighters.
Palestinian resistance fighters in Jenin refugee camp successfully down an Israeli military drone hovering over the camp, this morning. pic.twitter.com/Ej6zSewuE2
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 3, 2023
The fighters “are operating according to a well-studied plan, and the surprise [Israeli] attack has failed to disrupt their discipline,” Al-Mayadeen cited a source in the resistance as saying.
According to the Israeli army, around 20 resistance fighters have been detained, and a number of makeshift rockets were confiscated.
This military operation in Jenin was approved by the Israeli prime minister and defense minister 10 days ago, according to an earlier statement by the Shin Bet security service. While it is expected to last two days, it could extend further.
The operation – which reports indicate will last at least 48 hours – is being described as “open-ended,” and while focusing on Jenin, could potentially spread to other areas of the occupied West Bank, according to military spokesman Daniel Hagari.
“The goal of this extensive operation is to end Jenin’s role as a ‘city of refuge’ for terror, and it will last as long as it needs to,” an unnamed Israeli government official said.
Jenin is famously known as the West Bank’s main bastion of resistance. In the city, as well as in others across the West Bank, newly formed resistance factions have grown rapidly.
Israel has been mulling over a wide-scale operation for several months in order to confront the threat faced by these groups.
Monday’s events come two weeks after a major Israeli raid in Jenin, during which it launched its first airstrikes on the West Bank in 21 years.
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