Israel’s large-scale raids in Jenin on Monday and Tuesday have claimed at least 13 lives, including one Israeli soldier. Over 100 people have been injured and thousands are reported to have fled the refugee camp in the city.
Late on Tuesday evening, a source in the Israeli security service told the AP news agency that the soldiers have begun to withdraw from Jenin. Just hours later, Israel’s military reported that five rockets had been fired at southern Israel from Gaza.
In a statement, the military says that all rockets were stopped by the country’s air defenses.
No Palestinian group has yet claimed responsibility for the shelling.
Not a one-time event
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also hinted on Tuesday that the military operation was being scaled back, said the raid in Jenin was not a one-off.
– We will continue as long as necessary to stop terrorism, Netanyahu said during a visit to the outskirts of Jenin on Tuesday.
The military claims during the raid to have seized weapons and explosives and destroyed tunnels and command posts. According to Israeli media, at least 120 suspected Palestinian militants have been arrested since the raid began early Monday.
Around 4,000 Palestinians have fled from the large refugee camp in the city, according to the city’s mayor, Nidal al-Obeidi. They must have sought protection with relatives and in shelters.
According to residents, there is neither water nor electricity in the camp and on Tuesday many shops were closed and very few people were seen on the streets.
Strike in protest
Palestinians stage a general strike across the West Bank to protest the Israeli raid.
In Tel Aviv, eight people were injured when a man drove into a crowd and then jumped out and attacked with a knife. The attacker was shot dead by a civilian, according to the police. The militant Palestinian movement Hamas hailed the act as a first response to Israel’s raids in Jenin.