The Israeli occupation forces has launched a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, sparking clashes with Palestinian fighters and forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes.
The operation, which began on Monday, is aimed at arresting or killing Palestinian resistance fighters, which the Israeli occupation accuses of carrying out shooting attacks.
According to Palestinian sources, the Israeli occupation forces killed at least 10 Palestinians and dozens have been wounded in the ongoing raids, which have involved tanks, helicopters and drones.
The Israeli offensive has also displaced an estimated 15,000 people from Jenin and its surrounding villages, according to the United Nations. Many of them have sought refuge in nearby towns or in UN-run schools.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Lynn Hastings, expressed alarm at the situation and called for an immediate halt to the hostilities.
“The escalation in Jenin is endangering the lives and livelihoods of thousands of civilians and causing widespread fear and trauma,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
She also urged the Israeli occupation to respect international humanitarian law and ensure the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers.
Jenin has long been a flashpoint of resistance against the Israeli occupation and a stronghold of the Palestinian resistance. The city was the scene of a bloody siege in 2002, when Israeli occupation forces killed dozens of Palestinians during an incursion into the Jenin refugee camp.
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