Israel’s most forceful incursion into the occupied West Bank for years has entered another day.
About 1,000 troops, their arrival heralded by intense drone strikes and accompanied by armored vehicles, have been in the narrow streets and alleyways of the Jenin refugee camp, in what Israeli officials described as an effort to root out armed militants after months of growing violence.
Tuesday also saw a car ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, raising fears of a spiraling tit-for-tat.
This year was already one of the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank in more than a decade, with more than 140 killed over the past six months. Most died in armed clashes during Israeli military raids, though some were bystanders. It has also been one of the deadliest years for Israelis in some time, with at least 24 killed in Arab attacks, nearly all civilians.
Israeli military officials said that more than 50 shooting attacks against Israeli targets had been carried out in the past six months from the Jenin area, a stronghold for Palestinian militant groups, and that the operation there aimed to “break the safe-haven mind-set” of the camp. A member of the local committee that administers the camp said that the incursion had transformed it into “a war zone in the full meaning of the word.”
Here is a selection of images that have emerged since the Israeli operation began around 1 a.m. Monday.
Tuesday
Residents of the Jenin refugee camp fled their homes as the Israeli military pressed on with its operation.
A Palestinian wounded in a confrontation with Israeli forces.
Damage caused by the incursion in Jenin.
Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters in Jenin.
Inspecting bodies in the morgue of a hospital in Jenin.
Israeli Army vehicles in the Jenin refugee camp.
Several Israelis were wounded in what the authorities said was a car-ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv.
The Israeli authorities said a civilian shot and killed the assailant in the attack.
A Palestinian running for cover from tear gas in Jenin.
A destroyed car in the wake of the Israeli Army operation.
Monday
Palestinians fleeing the refugee camp.
Palestinians running for cover during clashes with Israeli soldiers.
Palestinian armed militants during clashes with Israeli soldiers in the city of Jenin.
Israeli drones over Jenin during the military operation.
A wounded Palestinian man being brought into a hospital.
Palestinian youths burned tires and waste during the clashes.
About 1,000 Israeli troops were taking part in the operation.
Carrying a wounded Israeli soldier to be transferred by a military helicopter to a hospital.
Palestinian youth coming face to face with an Israeli armored vehicle.