Israel launches large-scale military operation in West Bank
Deadly aerial and ground attack on Jenin refugee camp fuels fears of ‘new chapter of full-scale conflict’
At least five Palestinians have been killed in one of the largest military operations launched on the West Bank by Israel in recent years.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, dozens of people were injured in an attack that began with multiple drone strikes on the Jenin refugee camp in the early hours of Monday. The death toll was expected to rise, officials said.
As well as the aerial assault, a convoy of dozens of Israeli armoured vehicles “surrounded the refugee camp from all sides and launched a ground military operation”, said Al Jazeera.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
An official at the Jenin Governmental Hospital told Middle East Eye that the attack was one of the worst in years, adding: “We have not received this number of serious injuries since 2002.”
A local resident told the news site that the shelled buildings belonged to civilians, and included the Freedom Theatre, a popular cultural centre in the northern West Bank city.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, told media that the operation was “part of a series of actions” that the Israeli military “will continue to carry out”.
“This is not an operation against the Palestinian Authority but against the terror groups in Jenin,” he said.
The attacks follow weeks of “speculation about a major Israeli military operation in the West Bank”, said The Times of Israel, after “a string of shooting attacks and intense resistance to IDF raids in Palestinian cities”.
More than 180 Palestinians and 24 Israelis have been killed this year in the escalating violence, “inflaming fears that the region is moving closer towards a new chapter of full-scale conflict”, said The Guardian.
“As long as there is Israeli military rule, the ongoing expansion of settlements in the West Bank with the clear aim of annexing it, and the lack of any prospect of fresh elections or unity within the Palestinian political system, there will not be any calm or stability in the West Bank or in Gaza,” warned Yossi Mekelberg, professor of international relations at Chatham House, in an article for Arab News.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jamie Timson is the UK news editor, curating The Week UK's daily morning newsletter and setting the agenda for the day's news output. He was first a member of the team from 2015 to 2019, progressing from intern to senior staff writer, and then rejoined in September 2022. As a founding panellist on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast, he has discussed politics, foreign affairs and conspiracy theories, sometimes separately, sometimes all at once. In between working at The Week, Jamie was a senior press officer at the Department for Transport, with a penchant for crisis communications, working on Brexit, the response to Covid-19 and HS2, among others.
-
Diamonds could be a brilliant climate solution
Under the radar A girl and the climate's best friend
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: November 12, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: November 12, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Netanyahu fires defense minister, sparking protests
Speed Read Yoav Gallant and Netanyahu have clashed for years. The Israeli prime minister first tried to fire the defense minister in 2023, but backed off following a public outcry.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Donald Trump sees himself as 'protector' of Israel
The Explainer What does that mean for the war in Gaza?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
US says Israel must up Gaza aid or risk arms halt
Speed Read The Biden administration has provided a 30-day ultimatum to the country
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kamala Harris walks 'tightrope' on Israel, Gaza
The Explainer She's committed to Israel's defense, and ending Palestinian suffering. Are both possible?
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, bombs Beirut
Speed Read Israeli forces have fired at three United Nations positions in Lebanon
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Netanyahu talk ahead of Israeli hit on Iran
Speed Read The pair spoke for the first time since August
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Israel marks Oct. 7 attack, hits Lebanon, Gaza
Speed Read It has been one year since Hamas attacked Israel festival goers, sparking an escalating conflict in the Middle East
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could escalation in the Middle East affect the global economy?
Today's Big Question Oil prices have already risen but wider conflict could see supply chains disrupted more broadly
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published