At least eight Palestinians were killed and 29 injured after Israel launched drone strikes on a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.
The Palestinian health ministry confirmed that several people died following the raid on a compound just after 1am on Monday.
Israeli troops were later engaged in massive gunbattles with militants on the streets of Jenin at midday following the launch of a wide-scale military operation. Palestinian youths could be seen running for cover behind parked cars amid fierce skirmishes.
The Israeli military said its forces struck a building that served as a command centre for fighters from the Jenin Brigades as part of a counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank.
They said the targeted building functioned as an “advanced observation and reconnaissance centre” and a weapons and explosives site, as well as a coordination and communications hub for the militant fighters.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesman, said the operation began just after 1am with an airstrike on a building used by militants for planning attacks. He said the goal of the operation was to destroy and confiscate weapons.
“We’re not planning to hold ground,” he said. “We’re acting against specific targets.”
He said that a brigade-sized force — roughly 2,000 soldiers — was taking part in the operation, and that military drones had carried out a series of strikes to clear the way for the ground forces
Until last month, when it carried out a strike on June 21 near Jenin, the Israeli military had not used drone strikes in the West Bank since 2006.
But the growing scale of the violence and the pressure on ground forces meant such tactics may continue, a military spokesman said.
“We’re really stretched,” he told journalists. “It’s because of the scale. And again, from our perception, this will minimise friction,” he said, saying the strikes were based on “precise intelligence”.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his forces were “closely monitoring the conduct of our enemies”.
“The defence establishment is ready for all scenarios,” he added.
In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah.
The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated since the spring of 2022.
Jenin has long been a bastion for armed struggle against Israel and was a major friction point in the last Palestinian uprising.
Monday’s raid came two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin and after the military said a rocket was fired from the area last week, which landed in the West Bank.
