Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, July 3, 2023

IDF spokesman: Airstrikes and targets took Jenin ‘by surprise’

By AFP and ToI Staff 3 July 2023, 12:56 pm 0 Edit

Smoke rises as Israel begins an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, July 3, 2023 (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

A spokesperson for the Israeli military says that while the operation in Jenin was expected, its execution was a surprise to those on the ground in the West Bank city.

“People were aware that we were probably going in,” army spokesman Richard Hecht tells reporters, “but the method of striking from the air,” with a target in the core of the camp, “basically caught them by surprise.”

He says troops remained inside the camp but were after “specific targets” and “not trying to hold ground.”

“We are still seizing weapons and ammunitions” and “infrastructure,” Hecht says, adding the focus was on Jenin camp and that there was no specific timeline for ending the operation.

It involved “brigade-level” troop numbers, he says.