The new campaign comes just days after West Jerusalem reached a ceasefire agreement with the Hamas group in Gaza
Israel has launched a new “large-scale and significant” military operation in the West Bank, targeting the Palestinian city of Jenin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Tuesday.
The operation, dubbed ‘Iron Wall,’ is intended to “eradicate terrorism” in the area, Netanyahu said in a statement. The campaign is a new step in Israel’s “systematic and resolute” effort to target the “Iranian axis wherever it sends its arms,” the PM asserted.
“This is another step towards achieving the goal we have set – strengthening security in Judea and Samaria,” he said, using the Israeli administrative name for the entire West Bank, occupied by the country since 1967.
In a separate statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it has “initiated a counterterrorism operation” in Jenin alongside the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and Israel Border Police.
Footage circulating online shows multiple Israeli military vehicles heading towards the city, with media reports suggesting the operation started with intensive drone strikes in the area. At least eight Palestinians were killed and further 35 wounded as the Israeli raid in the city began, local health authorities have said.
The new campaign comes a few days after Israel entered a ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian militant group Hamas, agreeing to swap prisoners. The ceasefire deal came into effect on Sunday, bringing to a halt the conflict that had been raging for around 15 months.
The hostility between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza began after the militant group launched a surprise attack on southern Israel in October 2023. Around 1,100 people were killed during the initial attack, while more than 200 were taken hostage.
Israeli military response has inflicted massive material damage on Gaza, with more than 46,000 killed, according to local health authorities. The hostilities also triggered fresh conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and led to several long-range strikes between Iran and Israel.
