Palestinians return to wreckage left behind by Israeli forces in Jenin refugee camp

Israeli forces end two-day-long operation in Jenin leaving behind a trail of deaths and destruction

Palestinians returned to the streets of Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday after Israeli forces withdrew, ending one of its biggest operations in two decades.

Twelve Palestinians, including children, and an Israeli soldier were killed during the two-day raid in Jenin as Israeli forces barrelled into the camp with armoured vehicles, destroying narrow streets and infrastructure in an area Israel calls a militant stronghold.

At least 140 people suffered injuries, including 83 who needed treatment in hospital. As gun battles between the Israeli forces and militants in the camp ensued, another Palestinian man was killed in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

And while the Israeli forces had withdrawn on the ground in the West Bank, Wednesday morning saw air strikes targeting at least one house in the Gaza Strip. Israel said it had responded to a volley of rockets fired by militants from Gaza, all of which were “successfully intercepted”.

The UN humanitarian relief agency told The Independent the last two days were among the deadliest Israeli raids in the West Bank in nearly 20 years. UN staffers travelled to Jenin camp on Wednesday to assess damage done to homes and civilian infrastructure.

“The Israeli forces’ operation into Jenin this week saw the highest number of injuries of Palestinians by Israeli forces in a single operation in Jenin since [the UN] began recording casualties in 2005,” said Lynn Hastings, the Humanitaran Coordinator for Palestine.

“The UN and its partners are in Jenin today assessing the humanitarian needs of people in the camp.

“Repair of water and electricity network and provision of shelter for those who have lost their homes will be at the top of the list,” she added.

Thousands of people who fled to escape the 48-hour-long operation returned on Wednesday to find their homes destroyed and alleys lined with piles of rubble. There are concerns many will be permanently displaced given their homes have been destroyed.

The UN raised alarm saying military bulldozers destroyed key roads and hindered ambulances from entering the camp, which has lost access to drinking water, electricity and in some areas food supplies.

The Israeli military said it struck “terrorist infrastructure targets and armed gunmen in the Jenin camp” and uncovered militant hideouts, arms depots and an underground shaft used to store explosives.

The army said weapons were located in hideouts, a mosque, pits concealed in civilian areas, operational situation rooms, and in vehicles. In a statement posted on Twitter on Wednesday, the army also claimed “no non-combatants were killed”. The United Nations said earlier on Tuesday that at least three Palestinian children were among the dead.

Palestinian rights groups said one 16-year-old boy was shot in the head as he stood outside Jenin’s al-Amal hospital, a medical facility the UN had earlier said came under Israeli gunfire.

Smoke and flames rise above buildings after Israeli air airstrikes in Gaza City (AFP/Getty)

Inside Jenin refugee camp, Palestinian medics told The Independent the situation was calm now that Israeli forces had withdrawn, but they were on standby in case the bombing resumed.

“There are no soldiers right now in Jenin, but we are waiting in case there is another assault again,” said Mahmoud al-Saadi, director of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society for the area.

He said his teams had been working around the clock to deal with the wounded which included over 30 children. “So far our teams have had to deal with 118 wounded and nine killed,” he said.

The number of casualties and level of violence over the last 48 hours in Jenin was almost on par with the Second Intifada more than two decades ago, he said. At that point Jenin refugee camp had also been a focal point of the violence.

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinian man draped in the flag of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AP)

“It is almost as high as 2002. This incursion they used fighter jets and drones  which is unusual, the last time they did that was two decades ago.”

Kefah Dabayyah, a 33-year-old Jenin refugee camp resident, said that he and his family had returned Wednesday to find widespread destruction.

“Roads were destroyed and many houses were affected, glass from windows was everywhere,” he told Associated Press. His home was not hit, but there is neither water, nor electricity or internet, he added.

Wissam Bakr, the head of Jenin Hospital, said most of the wounded were shot in the head and chest, and that 20 suffered severe injuries.

In a further sign of violence spilling over from Jenin, a Palestinian man rammed his car into pedestrians in Tel Aviv and went on a stabbing spree, wounding eight people before he was shot dead. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group which rules Gaza, claimed him as a member.

“We say to the enemy: The time when you could practice your aggression against our people without paying the price has passed. Today, Jenin is teaching you a lesson in resistance and steadfastness,” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement.

Israeli prime minister retorted with a vow to carry out more operations if needed, saying the Jenin raid “is not a one-off”.

“At these moments we are completing the mission, and I can say that our extensive operation in Jenin is not a one-off,” he said during a visit to a military post on the outskirts of Jenin. “We will eradicate terrorism wherever we see it and we will strike at it.”

More than 140 Palestinians have been killed so far this year by Israeli fire in the West Bank, according to the Associated Press’s count, almost half of them affiliated with militant groups.