12 killed in Jenin as Israel carries out hundreds of raids on West Bank refugee camps during Gaza war

Israel's army has carried out more than 200 military operations in refugee camps in the occupied West Bank since the war on Gaza started in October, Israeli media has reported.

Israeli forces killed 12 Palestinians in a two-raid raid on the city of Jenin and its camp, which began on Tuesday, before they pulled out on Thursday.

Fifty of the raids used aircraft, including helicopters. Israeli forces have killed at least 472 Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 7 October, the day the war on Gaza began, according to the UN's humanitarian office.

More than 4,000 people have so far been detained, The New Arab's sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday cited an unnamed security official as saying that the current military campaign began with a "ruse" which "contributed to targeting a number of militants who were not prepared".

"This campaign is part of a series of campaigns to dismantle terrorist infrastructure, and it came after an attack carried out by an [Israeli] warplane last week, in order to eliminate a cell," the official said.

The Israeli military command responsible for the West Bank has recently focused its efforts on two types of operations.

These are broad operations similar to the one in Jenin, aiming to eliminate Palestinian fighters, and detention operations or surgical assassination efforts, which may involve aerial attacks.

The Israeli army launched an operation in summer 2023 called Operation Home and Garden, stating it was aimed at changing the situation in the Jenin refugee camp.

Israeli forces believe Palestinian fighters in Jenin are operating in local brigades made up of a group of individuals, and that this phenomenon is expanding to various parts of the West Bank.

They say that the brigades want to use the momentum they gained in Jenin to expand their presence in Tulkarm's Nur Shams camp.

Israel has attacked the Nur Shams several times, aiming to eliminate Palestinian fighters' capabilities.