Gunfire and explosions have rocked both Jenin’s city center and the large refugee camp since the large-scale Israeli raid began on Monday night.
Hundreds of Israeli soldiers were still in Jenin on Monday evening, more than 20 hours after the operation began, writes the BBC.
At least nine Palestinians have been killed and twenty seriously injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Leaving the refugee camp
Around 3,000 Palestinians have left the refugee camp in the past 24 hours, according to Deputy Governor Kamal Abu al-Roub. Around 18,000 people are still in the camp.
Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA, confirms to AFP that residents of the camp are leaving their homes. Many of the residents are in urgent need of food, drinking water and powdered milk.
The purpose of the raid is to stop terrorists who want to destroy Israel, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. The effort should last as long as necessary, he added. About 2,000 soldiers have taken part, according to the Israeli military.
The violence has escalated
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls the escalation “an open war against the people”. During the evening, the office of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas announced that he is suspending all contacts and all security cooperation with Israel.
The Arab League has called an emergency meeting on Tuesday to “discuss an Arab mobilization to counter Israel’s attack on Jenin,” it said in a statement.
In recent weeks, violence has escalated in the West Bank. The UN Security Council has called on both Israel and Palestine to avoid actions that could increase tensions.