Several people were killed during an Israeli army raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinian health services said at least 10 Palestinians were killed and 35 injured in the raid, which began early Tuesday and continued late into the night and was expected to last several days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” aimed to “eradicate terrorism” in the region.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said its first responders treated seven people injured by live ammunition, adding that Israeli forces were obstructing access to the area.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” from security forces and said he “remains deeply concerned.”
The Israeli NGO B’Tselem accused the Israeli government of using the ceasefire in Gaza as “an excuse and an opportunity to intensify the oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank.”
“This is not what a ceasefire looks like,” he said.
Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP it was an “invasion of the (refugee) camp”.
“It happened quickly, Apache helicopters in the sky and Israeli military vehicles everywhere,” he added.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian security forces said in a statement that Israeli forces had “opened fire on civilians and security forces, injuring several civilians and several security personnel, one of whom is in a critical condition.”
Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank would still be likely after hostilities in Gaza end.
The raid also served to divert public attention after Israeli military commanders resigned over their admitted failure to protect Israel from Hamas attack in October 2023, he suggested.
“I think the Netanyahu government is turning around. Where does it deviate? In the West Bank. In Jenin. Through various closures and a massive attack on Jenin that will likely last for days, weeks – maybe longer.”
In recent months, raids have multiplied and intensified in Jenin.
