Fighter jets bomb Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas as the military begins a large-scale assault

Israel launched a large military offensive in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, attacking at least three cities from land and air.

Israeli air strikes hit Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas as troops opened fire at Palestinians on the ground.

At least nine Palestinians were killed in the Israel air strikes and from gunfire, according to an initial estimate by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS).

The assault began just after midnight local time (09:00 PM GMT) after undercover Israeli soldiers entered the Jenin refugee camp and the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm.

Large Israeli forces then raided the two cities and surrounded hospitals, preventing paramedics from reaching them, according to PRCS

Israeli paratroopers parachuted into Tubas and led the assault there, particularly in the Far’a refugee camp, according to Israeli Channel 14

A siege has been imposed on the three cities - Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas - in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli military said it was carrying out a large “counter-terror” operation in Jenin and Tulkarm without elaborating further.

According to Israeli media, a military division is involved in the offensive, including ground troops and the air force.

The assault is the largest conducted by the Israeli military since the 2002 “Defensive Shield” attack at the height of the Second Intifada, according to Israeli Kan News public broadcaster.

Palestinian armed groups in the targeted West Bank cities, including the local chapters of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, said their members were confronting Israeli troops in fire exchanges and using explosive devices

  • Viking_Hippie@lemmy.worldEnglish
    161·
    3 months ago

    The Israeli military said it was carrying out a large “counter-terror” operation in Jenin and Tulkarm without elaborating further.

    Because of COURSE they did. They’ve learned from the US that all you have to do is pretend that there’s terrorists and you can get away with literally anything. Especially if you’re Israel or the US itself.

    Shortly after the raid began, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz called for the “temporary evacuation” of Palestinians from parts of the occupied West Bank.

    By now, everyone who’s been paying attention know that when the fascist apartheid regime says “temporary evacuation”, they mean forced displacement, a war crime.

    “This is a war for everything and we must win it.”

    No, it’s an unconscionable genocide and the international community must stop it.

    Whenever medical teams tried to reach the entrances to the camp, they were threatened by soldiers they would shoot them, Ghoneimi said.

    “If we receive any call regarding emergency cases inside the camp, the paramedics try to deal with them on the field, and if they require transportation to the hospital, the ambulance tries to reach it via rugged dirt roads that take longer to pass.”

    All of it by design, of course. Israel wants as many Palestinian civilians to die as possible.