IDF pulls out of Jenin after 60 hours, says dozens arrested, bomb labs destroyed
Army says 10 armed Palestinians killed during 2.5-day operation in northern West Bank, including in separate drone strikes
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The military wrapped up a counter-terrorism operation in Jenin Thursday, some 60 hours after launching a major raid in the northern West Bank city and adjacent refugee camp.
According to the IDF, troops scanned hundreds of buildings, arrested 60 wanted Palestinians, and seized 50 weapons and hundreds of explosive devices during the 60-hour incursion that began late Monday.
The IDF said the troops also found more than 10 tunnel shafts, seven labs used to manufacture explosive devices, and five war rooms used by local terror operatives to monitor IDF operations. Some of the sites were blown up by the troops.
The IDF said it carried out two drone strikes against groups of armed Palestinians hurling explosive devices and shooting at troops.
It said 10 armed Palestinians were killed during the raid, including seven in the drone strikes, and others were wounded.
The Palestinian Authority’s Wafa news agency reported that 12 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in Jenin.
Seven IDF soldiers were lightly hurt in the operation, it added.
Israeli troops have carried out dozens of raids in Jenin and other areas of the northern West Bank In recent months, though incursions lasting more than a few hours are rare. Israel says that the PA has lost control of areas of the northern West Bank, allowing terror groups to entrench themselves and launch attacks on Israelis on both sides of the Green Line.
Separately, in other areas of the West Bank, the IDF said it detained 14 wanted Palestinians, including three Hamas members, in overnight raids.
Since the October 7 onslaught by Hamas against Israel, troops have arrested over 2,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,100 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 280 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.
Based on military estimates, the vast majority of the 280 Palestinians killed since October 7 were shot dead during clashes amid arrest raids, and many of them, according to data seen by The Times of Israel, were armed with either a firearm or an explosive device.
The IDF is aware of at least three cases of uninvolved Palestinians being killed by troops in recent weeks, and a handful of cases of settlers killing Palestinians, which are still under investigation.
