Israeli forces withdraw from West Bank city after 10-day assault

JENIN

Israeli forces appeared to have withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank by Sept. 6 morning, after a more-than weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and a trail of destruction.

Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin refugee camp from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads. Several reporters inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining troops inside as dawn broke early Sept. 6 morning.

Troops were pulled out of the Tulkarem camp by morning and had left Al-Faraa earlier, but in a statement the Israeli military suggested the operation was not yet over.

“Israeli security forces are continuing to act in order to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation,” the military said in a statement.

Hundreds of Israeli troops have been involved for more than a week in what has been their deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began, employing what the United Nations called “lethal war-like tactics.”

The fighting has had a devastating effect on Palestinian civilians living in Jenin.

Water and electric services have been cut, families have been confined to their homes and ambulances evacuating the wounded have been slowed on their way to nearby hospitals, as Israeli soldiers search for militants.

During the operation, Israeli forces sent military bulldozers into the camp, ripping up roads in search of buried explosives.

In the quiet morning, Jenin residents took advantage of the lull to rummage through the rubble of destroyed buildings and take stock of the damage.

Twisted rebar protruded from the concrete of collapsed buildings, and walls still standing were pockmarked by bullets and shrapnel.