West Bank: Ten Palestinians reported killed in Israeli strike

Hundreds of Israeli security forces backed by helicopters, drones and armoured vehicles have been deployed to Jenin and its refugee camp, long seen as a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

More than 20,000 people have reportedly fled their homes in the camp, where many homes have been demolished and roads have been dug up by Israeli bulldozers.

“It’s terrifying, the explosions, the fires, the houses which were demolished,” Intisar Amalka, a displaced camp resident, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

The Palestinian health ministry says 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and dozens more wounded in the Jenin area since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a large-scale operation to “defeat terrorism” on 21 January.

They have included a two-year-old girl, who died on Saturday after being shot in the head, and at least six members of armed groups, according to Reuters news agency.

The health ministry says another 14 Palestinians have been killed elsewhere in the northern West Bank over the same period, including the 10 who died in Wednesday’s strike in Tamun.

On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF said Israeli security forces had killed 18 “terrorists” and detained 60 “wanted individuals” in recent days in Jenin and the Tulkarm area, where they began a separate operation on Monday. Numerous weapons had also been located and dozens of explosive devices dismantled, it added.

Hamas urged Palestinians in the West Bank “to engage by all means in resisting the occupation, its soldiers and settler militias”.