Thousands of people have fled a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank after Israel launched a large scale military operation targeting Palestinian militants.
At least 10 people have been killed and 100 injured after Israel carried out a wave of drone strikes in the Jenin camp and city and sent in hundreds of troops, Palestinian health officals said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were striking “terrorist infrastructure in the Jenin area”.
An official from the humanitarian organization Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews evacuated 3,000 people - including patients and the elderly - from the camp to local hospitals overnight.
The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, said it was “deeply concerned” about the impact of the Israeli operation in the camp, which had been home to around 14,000 people.
It said water and electricity services have been interrupted in large areas, leaving residents “unable to move from their homes” and many “in urgent need of food, drinking water and milk powder for children”.
It said schools and a health centre had been forced to close due to intense fighting.
Israel is close to completing its Jenin operation, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
The operation aims to uproot Iranian-backed Palestinian armed factions behind a recent surge in gun and bomb attacks as well as preliminary efforts to manufacture rockets, Israel has said.
Hundreds of fighters from Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Fatah live in the camp which has been fortified with a range of obstacles and watching posts to counter regular army raids.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday morning 120 suspects had been detained so far, with 300 armed militants believed to be in Jenin in hiding still.
The United States said yesterday it respected Israel’s right to defend itself but said civilian casualties should be avoided.
The United Nations said all military operations should respect international law.
Several cities in the West Bank declared a general strike for Tuesday in solidarity with Palestinians in the Jenin camp.
