Israel-Palestine latest: Israeli forces withdraws from Jenin after deadly raid that killed 13

As troops withdrew overnight, tensions remained high as shots were exchanged between the two sides

Aftermath of car-ramming that injured several Tel Aviv

Israeli forces withdrew from the Jenin refugee camp after a two-day deadly raid that left at least 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead, around 100 wounded, and thousands driven from their homes.

The incursion on the militant stronghold in the West Bank, one of the most intense in the territory in nearly two decades, began with late-night drone strikes, followed by a sweep involving more than 1,000 Israeli troops.

As the troops withdrew overnight, tensions remained high as Israel reported a volley of rockets from the Gaza Strip, another Palestinian territory. The rockets were shot down and Israel’s air force struck targets in Gaza belonging to the ruling Hamas, causing no casualties.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to carry out similar offensives in the future. He said: "At these moments we are completing the mission, and I can say that our extensive operation in Jenin is not a one-off."

Key Points

• Israeli forces withdraw from Jenin leaving behind deaths and large-scale damages
• Thousands flee Jenin refugee camp to escape Israeli operation
• Israel launches air attack on Gaza Strip
• Seven injured after ‘Palestinian’ car-ramming and stabbing attack
• Three Palestinian children among dead - UN
• Journalists ‘directly targeted’ by Israeli army in Jenin

[5 July 2023 17:15 · Natalie Crockett]

We’re pausing our live coverage for now. We’ll bring you the latest news as we get it. Read the latest here.

[5 July 2023 16:40 · Tara Cobham]

Camp resident has ‘never been through such days'

A resident of the Jenin refugee camp said he had “never been through such days” as he ran out of supplies amid airstrikes in the two-day deadly raid.

"We stayed inside the house, but then they cut off the electricity then the water," said Mohammad Mansour, a resident of the camp where armoured bulldozers tore up streets to expose roadside bombs, cutting power cables and water pipes. "We ended up running out of bread, and supplies, we were hungry, I've never been through such days."

[5 July 2023 15:55 · Tara Cobham]

At least 13 dead and 100 wounded

At least 12 Palestinians, most confirmed as militant fighters, were killed and around 100 wounded in the incursion that began with late-night drone strikes, followed by a sweep involving more than 1,000 Israeli troops.

One Israeli soldier was also killed during the operation.

[5 July 2023 15:16 · Tara Cobham]

Recap: CCTV captures moment of car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv

CCTV footage has been released of a car ramming into pedestrians in Tel Aviv, Israel, after seven people were left injured.

The incident, which took place on Pinchas Rosen Street, was alleged to have been a Palestinian attack, shortly after ten people, including three children, were killed during an Israeli military operation in Jenin in the occupied West Bank.

It's thought the suspect tried to stab the victims before being shot dead by a member of the public.

Islamist militant group Hamas praised the attack as “heroic".

Sophie Thompson reports:

[5 July 2023 14:45 · Tara Cobham]

Palestinian Authority weakness

The scale of the Israeli operation, one of the biggest in 20 years, pointed to the growing strength of the militant groups in Jenin, where Israel estimates almost half the population is affiliated to Islamic Jihad or to Hamas, which rules Gaza.

It also underlined the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, set up some 30 years ago after the Oslo peace accords, which has been unable to impose itself against either Israel or militant groups in Jenin or nearby Nablus.

Both cities have been traditional centres of Palestinian resistance, but their position has become more pronounced as a wave of violence has swept the West Bank over the past two years.

In Jenin, footage circulating on social media showed hundreds gathered in the early hours of the morning in front of the heavily protected offices of the Palestinian Authority governor, throwing rocks at the 5-metre-high walls.

Israel has been fiercely critical of the Palestinian Authority and its 87-year-old President Mahmoud Abbas, accusing them of failing to rein in the militant groups. PA officials in turn say Israel has made it impossible to exert any control by keeping them deliberately weak and undermining their authority. Surveys show almost 80% of Palestinians want Abbas to resign but in the absence of any designated successor and with no elections held for almost 20 years, it remains unclear who might replace him.

[5 July 2023 14:00 · Tara Cobham]

Palestinians turn anger on own leadership after Israel's Jenin raid

Angry crowds in Jenin confronted senior Palestinian Authority officials at a funeral on Wednesday as fury boiled over at the weakness of their response to one of the largest Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank in years. The two-day operation, which the Israeli military said targeted infrastructure and weapons depots of militant factions in the Jenin refugee camp, left a trail of wrecked streets and burned-out cars and sparked fury across the Arab world.

At least 12 Palestinians were killed and around 100 wounded in an incursion that began with late-night drone strikes, followed by a sweep involving more than 1,000 Israeli troops.

One Israeli soldier was also killed during the operation.

At a funeral for 10 of the dead, three senior leaders of the Palestinian Authority - the body that exercises nominal governance over parts of the West Bank - were forced to leave after being confronted with a crowd of thousands, including dozens of gunmen, chanting "Get out! Get out!" Following the withdrawal of the Israeli force on Tuesday evening, leaders of Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad and other armed factions claimed victory, and the mood among residents returning home to the camp appeared defiant.

"They did not get what they wanted, thank God. The youths are fine, the families are fine, and the camp is fine," Mutasem Estatia, a father of six, told Reuters after what he described as two nights being kept away, one of them in Israeli detention.

"There are 12 martyrs and we are proud of them, but we expected more damage given the raid's scale."

Israeli forces detained 150 suspected militants, seized caches of guns and roadside mines - including an arsenal under a mosque - and destroyed a command centre, the army said. It said all the Palestinians killed were armed fighters. Islamic Jihad and Hamas claimed only five of the dead as members.

As the troops withdrew overnight, Israel reported a volley of rockets from the Gaza Strip, another Palestinian territory. The rockets were shot down and Israel's air force struck targets in Gaza belonging to the ruling Hamas, causing no casualties. In a further sign of violence spilling over from Jenin, a Palestinian rammed his car into pedestrians in Tel Aviv and went on a stabbing spree, wounding eight people before he was shot dead. Hamas claimed him as a member.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Tuesday the Jenin operation was unlikely to be a "one-off" and said it would be "the beginning of regular incursions and continuous control of the territory".

In turn, the spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, said "every alley and street will soon turn into clashes and fighting fields."

[5 July 2023 12:57 · Tara Cobham]

Is it safe to travel to Israel?

Israel launched a major raid on a Jenin refugee camp – a Palestinian militant stronghold in the Israeli-occupied West Bank – on 3 July, killing at least a dozen Palestinians in clashes with gunmen.

On Tuesday (4 July), a suspected Palestinian car-ramming and stabbing attack injured at least eight people in Tel Aviv.

While the Israeli military has confirmed it had withdrawn troops from the West Bank, ending an intense two-day operation that has driven thousands of people from their homes, Israeli forces launched air strikes on the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning (5 July) after saying that rockets were fired towards Israel from the same area.

Is it still safe to travel to Israel amid the escalating unrest? Ben Parker explains the key questions and answers:

[5 July 2023 12:20 · Tara Cobham]

Israeli PM Netanyahu warns of another deadly raid on Jenin

Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of another deadly raid on Jenin as Israel withdrew its troops following the most intense military operation in the occupied territory in nearly two decades.

The Israeli military confirmed it had withdrawn troops from the militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, ending an intense two-day operation that killed at least 12 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier, and drove thousands of people from their homes.

Ahead of the withdrawal, the Israeli Prime Minister vowed to carry out similar operations if needed, saying the 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."

This comes after Israeli forces launched air strikes on the northern part of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday morning after it said rockets were fired towards Israel from the same area.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a briefing near the Salem military post between Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday (AP)

[5 July 2023 11:50 · Tara Cobham]

Watch: CCTV shows rockets being launched from Gaza Strip as Israeli troops leave camp

CCTV from a bar in Sderot, Israel, captures the moment rockets were fired and then shot down by air defences on Tuesday, 4 July, as Israeli troops began to withdraw from the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank according to security officials.

Israel’s army said militants in the Gaza Strip launched five rockets, which were intercepted, into Israel.

Troops withdrew from the camp after an intense two-day operation that killed at least 13 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier and drove thousands from their homes.

One Israeli soldier was also killed.

Residents of Jenin said the Israeli army had left the camp just after midnight on Wednesday.

Holly Patrick reports:

[5 July 2023 11:19 · Tara Cobham]

‘Glass from windows is everywhere,’ says Jenin resident

Residents of the Jenin refugee camp emerged from their homes to find alleys lined by piles of rubble and flattened or scorched cars. Shopkeepers and bulldozers started clearing the debris. Thousands who had fled the fighting began returning.

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 said. His home was not hit, but there is neither water, nor electricity or internet.