| Israel launches fresh air strikes in the West Bank a day after it... |
** The Israeli government has accused Iran, which backs militant groups across the Middle East...
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Israel launches fresh air strikes in the West Bank a day after it claimed to have 'eliminated a terrorist cell' in attack that killed five people
03/02/2025
(See translation in Arabic section)
Sydney-Middle East Times Int'l: The Israeli military blew up several buildings in the occupied West Bank on Sunday in a series of simultaneous explosions killing at least two people, including a 73-year-old man.
The Palestinian state news agency said the military had levelled around 20 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp.
Witnesses reported a 'large' deployment of Israeli forces in the morning around the towns of Tubas and Tamun, southeast of Jenin.
Thick clouds were seen rising from the Palestinian city where Israeli forces have been conducting a massive operation for nearly two weeks that the Israeli military says is targeted at local militants, including seizing weapons stockpiles.
Asked about the simultaneous demolition of buildings in Jenin, a spokesperson for the military said 'several structures used as terrorist infrastructure' had been dismantled.
Dozens of homes and roads have been destroyed by Israeli forces in the latest campaign.
The Palestinian state news agency also said that a 27 year-old man had been killed on Sunday by Israeli forces raiding a refugee camp near Hebron.
Jenin Government Hospital Director Wisam Baker told the Palestinian state news agency that part of the hospital was damaged in the explosions but that there had been no casualties.
At least 25 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli military operation began, including nine members of armed groups, a 73 year-old man and a two-year-old girl, according to Palestinian officials.
The Israeli military says it has killed at least 35 militants and detained over 100 wanted individuals.
Jenin is a crowded township built for descendants of Palestinians who were driven out, or fled their homes, in the 1948 war when the state of Israel was established.
The refugee camp there has been a centre of militant activity for decades and the target of repeated raids by Israeli security forces.
Israeli forces, backed by helicopters and armoured bulldozers, began the assault on the city on January 21, two days after Israel reached a ceasefire in Gaza with militant group Hamas.
Hamas called for an 'escalation in the resistance' against Israel on Sunday following the demolition of buildings in Jenin.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited governance over the West Bank where around 3million Palestinians live and over which Israel maintains overall military control.
Israeli forces have engaged in gun battles with local militants since the operation began.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that security forces would stay until the operation is complete, without saying when that would be.
The Israeli military launched a major offensive in the West Bank last month dubbed Iron Wall which was aimed at rooting out Palestinian armed groups from the Jenin area, which has long been a hotbed of militancy.
An AFP journalist said the army was blocking the exits of the nearby Faraa refugee camp and entering homes.
Drones were also visible in the sky.
The Israeli government accuses Iran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East including Hamas in Gaza, of attempting to send weapons and money to militants in the West Bank.
Islamic Jihad's military wing confirmed in a statement on Sunday that two of its fighters were among those killed.
The military said one of those killed had been released from Israeli detention in 2023 as part of the first truce in the Gaza war.
This comes as U.S. and Arab mediators begin the daunting work of brokering the next phase of an agreement to wind down the war in the Gaza Strip and release dozens of militant-held hostages.
Hamas, which has quickly reasserted its control over Gaza since the ceasefire took hold last month, has said it will not release the hostages slated to go free in the second phase without an end to the war and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will discuss 'victory over Hamas,' countering Iran and expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries in his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. |
