13 Palestinian gunmen killed since start of Jenin operation, IDF officer says

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Israeli troops carrying out a major raid in the Jenin area in the northern West Bank since Tuesday morning have killed 13 Palestinian gunmen, a senior IDF officer in the West Bank division says.

According to the officer, Operation Iron Wall was launched to neutralize the so-called Jenin Battalion, made up of operatives affiliated with terror groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Previous raids on Jenin in the past year did not specify such a goal, the officer says.

Several special forces units are operating in the Jenin refugee camp, along with Border Police officers and other IDF units. The officer says troops are scanning homes, capturing weapons, and eliminating terror operatives.

Two of the gunmen killed in the operation were eliminated outside the Jenin camp, in the Wadi Burqin area, last night.

The military says the pair were behind a deadly terror shooting attack in the village of al-Funduq earlier this month.

A third suspect was detained in the incident, and the Shin Bet is currently investigating if he was also involved in the al-Funduq shooting, or whether the third gunman from the attack is still at large.

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