Israeli forces have reportedly withdrawn from the occupied West Bank city of Jenin after a 10-day raid in which at least 39 people were killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The Israeli forces left behind extensive damage to infrastructure, a Reuters witness said.
In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of transferring to the occupied West Bank its brutal destruction and devastation in the Gaza Strip, as evidenced by the situation in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, and the refugee camps there.
Israeli raids elsewhere in the West Bank continued, Al Jazeera reported, including in the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem. Israeli forces also raided the village of Beit Tamar, east of Bethlehem and the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus.
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At least 39 Palestinians have been killed and 140 injured across the occupied West Bank during Israel’s 10-day operation, according to Palestinian health authorities. The Israeli operation was the largest to take place in the area since 2002.
Most of the dead have been armed fighters but some uninvolved civilians have also been killed, including a 16-year-old girl. One Israeli soldier was also killed.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières said it had been forced to suspend its activities in the occupied West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem since the start of Israel’s “recent incursions” and accused the Israeli military of “repeated attacks” on health workers, ambulances and medical facilities.
Elsewhere, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Thursday it was incumbent on both Israel and Hamas to say yes on remaining issues to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, which has faced obstacles in negotiations across months.
“Based on what I have seen, 90 per cent is agreed but there are a few critical issues that remain,” including the so-called Philadelphi corridor on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, Mr Blinken said at a press briefing in Haiti.
At least 40,878 Palestinians have been killed and 94,454 injured in Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip since October 7th, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The figure does not include the thousands buried under the rubble or those who have died of curable diseases due to Israel’s destruction of the health system. – Guardian