On the night of July 3, Israeli forces attacked the West Bank. The attack, which was mainly aimed at a refugee camp in Jenin, is one of the biggest attacks in 20 years and, according to AP, has been strongly condemned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The raid is described by the Israeli military (IDF) as a “counter-terrorist operation” and according to Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, the aim was “to stop terrorists who want to destroy Israel”. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls it “an open war against the people”.
2,000 Israeli soldiers are said to have participated in the attack. At least 13 Palestinians have died and over 100 have been injured.
The unrest continues
The raid came after weeks of escalating violence in the West Bank and has led to continued unrest.
On Thursday, the Israeli military stated that an Israeli soldier was shot dead near the settlement of Kedumin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. The suspected perpetrator tried to escape but was shot dead by Israeli military.
The Islamist fundamentalist movement Hamas claims responsibility for the attack and a spokesman for the movement describes it as “a response to the Israeli attack on Jenin”, writes the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Israel has shelled targets in southern Lebanon
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli military fired at targets in southern Lebanon. According to the military, it was in response to a shell attack from Lebanon on the border town of Ghajar, which is shared between Israel and Lebanon. The shell should have struck on the Israeli side without injuring people, TT reports.
Ghajar, which has long been a point of contention between Israel, Syria and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, lies on the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967.
It is unclear who fired the projectile from Lebanon. The Lebanese army has not commented on the events.
Three questions about the military raid – hear SVT’s foreign reporter on site in Jenin in the clip above.