Israel Launches Assault on Jenin as Palestinian Authority Withdraws After Weeks-Long Operation
Occupied West Bank (Quds News Network)- The Israeli army announced the launch of a military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, during which six Palestinians have been killed so far.
Local sources said Israeli soldiers stormed the city from the Jalameh military checkpoint, after a special Israeli force infiltrated the al-Jabariyat neighborhood.
The raid coincided with Israeli drones bombing an empty vehicle near al-Zahraa School in the vicinity of Jenin refugee camp, without any injuries being reported, while Apache helicopters fired into the skies of the camp.
Israeli military helicopters are indiscriminately shooting right now amid an Israeli military incursion into Jenin. pic.twitter.com/bNCe9sgWQk
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 21, 2025
BREAKING: More casualties among Palestinian civilians following gunfire by the Israeli army in Jenin." pic.twitter.com/nmYhZDyISU
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 21, 2025
The Israeli military claimed it was conducting a “counterterrorism” operation, without providing details.
The Times of Israel newspaper, citing a military source, reports the Israeli military’s ongoing raid in Jenin is expected to go on for at least several days, mobilising extensive troops, special forces and intelligence personnel.
The operation is codenamed “The Iron Wall”, said Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the operation, saying, “Under the guidance of the Security Cabinet, the IDF, Shin Bet, and the Israel Police launched today a wide-ranging and significant military operation to combat terrorism in Jenin – “Iron Wall.””
בהנחיית הקבינט המדיני-ביטחוני, צה"ל, שב"כ ומשטרת ישראל פתחו היום במבצע צבאי נרחב ומשמעותי למיגור הטרור בג'נין – "חומת ברזל".
זה הוא צעד נוסף להשגת המטרה שהצבנו – חיזוק הביטחון ביהודה-ושומרון.
אנו פועלים באופן שיטתי ונחוש נגד הציר האיראני בכל מקום שאליו הוא שולח את זרועותיו –…
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) January 21, 2025
Six Palestinians have been killed so far since the start of the assault and at least 35 others injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry,
Before the Israeli assault, the Palestinian Authority forces had been conducting a weeks-long operation, claiming it aims to reassert control of the city as well as the refugee camp.
It also comes only days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza following 15 months of Israeli genocide.
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel’s ongoing raid in Jenin is designed to “change the security situation” in the occupied West Bank.
The military raid “will be an intense and ongoing operation”, said Smotrich in a post on X.
He added it would target “terror elements and their enablers” in order to protect Israeli “settlers” and “settlements”, which he described as a “security buffer” for Israel.
