Dozens Killed, Injured in Jenin – Israel Launches ‘Iron Wall’ Operation in Jenin

January 21, 2025 News
Israeli occupation forces raided the Jenin refugee camp. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

A military source told The Times of Israel that the large-scale operation was “expected to last at least several days.”

At least seven Palestinians have been killed and 35 others injured so far in a massive raid by Israeli occupation forces into the occupied West Bank town of Jenin and its refugee camp that was expected to be ongoing.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that the injured, with varying degrees of injuries, were taken to Ibn Sina, Al-Amal and Al-Shifa hospitals, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Tuesday.

The death toll is likely to rise, the agency said, as the raid continues and the army prevents ambulances from reaching the wounded.

A military source told The Times of Israel that the large-scale operation was “expected to last at least several days.”

“Large numbers of troops, including special forces, Shin Bet agents, and Border Police officers are now operating in the city,” the paper said.

‘Bolstering Security’ Claims

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X: “On the directive of the Security Cabinet, the IDF, the ISA and the Israel Police have today begun an extensive and significant military operation to defeat terrorism in Jenin – ‘Iron Wall’.

Netanyahu claimed it was “an additional step in achieving the objective we have set: bolstering security in Judea & Samaria (West Bank – PC).”

“We are acting methodically and with determination against the Iranian axis wherever it reaches: in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Judea & Samaria – and we are still active,” he added.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee confirmed on X: “Name of the operation in Jenin: The Iron Wall,” and said that the operation was launched “to thwart terrorist activities in Jenin.”

Warplanes and Drones Employed

Israeli warplanes were being used in the raid as the military stormed the area with several military vehicles early in the day. Palestinian Resistance forces activated sirens in Jenin following the discovery of an Israeli army special forces unit in the area, according to Palestinian sources.

The raid coincided with Israeli drones bombing an empty vehicle near Al-Zahraa School in the vicinity of Jenin camp, while Apache helicopters fired into the skies over the refugee camp.

Army snipers were also deployed in the Al-Hadaf neighborhood in Jenin camp and opened heavy fire at residents.

Before the Israeli assault began, the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces had been conducting a weeks-long operation, claiming it aimed to reassert control of the city as well as the refugee camp.

Israeli Soldier Killed

The operation also comes a day after an Israeli soldier holding the rank of first sergeant was killed and four others were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the West Bank town of Tamoun.

Palestinian Child Killed in Israeli Raid, Soldiers Killed and Wounded in West Bank

Since Monday, the Israeli army continued to install iron gates at the entrances leading to several towns and villages across the West Bank, turning them into isolated areas, restricting the movement of locals and imposing collective punishment against them, reported the Quds News Network.

A 15-year-old Palestinian, Ahmad Rashid Jazar, was shot and killed by Israeli occupation forces during a raid on Sunday. Jazar was shot in the chest with live bullets in Sebastia, northwest of Nablus, WAFA reported.

Dozens Detained

The Israeli army detained 64 Palestinians, including children as young as 7, during a raid on Monday in eastern Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, the Anadolu news agency reported.

The arrests occurred one day after Israel released 90 prisoners from custody under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with resistance factions in the Gaza Strip, ending a 15-month genocide in the enclave.

Israeli forces entered the town of Azzun, forcing shop owners to close their businesses, journalist and activist Fares Al-Azzouni told Anadolu.

“The occupation forces stormed homes and a mosque, detaining 64 residents, including children,” said Al-Azzouni, adding that one was 7 years old.

Taken to Military Camp

Those who were detained were forced to lie face down in a public square before being herded and made to walk in a line with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them while looking downward, according to Al-Azzouni.

They were then taken to a military camp at the northern entrance of the town.

Clashes broke out during the raid, with Israeli occupation forces firing live ammunition and tear gas in residential areas, Al-Azzouni said.

He also said three residents were hospitalized after reportedly being beaten by Israeli soldiers at the northern entrance to Azzun on Sunday evening.

Settler Attacks

Also on Monday evening, 21 Palestinians were injured in an attack by illegal Jewish settlers on the town of Al-Funduq and Jinsafut near Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.

The attack took place under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, reported WAFA.

Jalal Bashir, the head of the Jinsafut Village Council, informed WAFA that dozens of settlers raided the village, setting fire to three homes, a nursery and a carpentry workshop situated along the Qalqilya-Nablus main road. The illegal settlers also torched several vehicles owned by Palestinian residents.

The Al Jazeera Arabic news website cited Israeli media sources as having reported that two settlers were wounded by gunfire from an Israeli policeman who mistakenly shot them after they and dozens of others stormed the town and attacked Palestinian homes and property.

On Sunday evening, settlers also set fire to and damaged several Palestinian vehicles, closed roads and blocked key intersections in various parts of the West Bank.

‘Launch Intifada’ – Hamas

The Resistance movement Hamas has condemned what it called “settler terrorism” in the West Bank saying “their aggression… must met with an escalation of resistance in all its forms.”

“The terrorism of settlers, backed by the extremist zionist occupation government, is indisputable evidence of the occupation’s terrorist approach and its fascist, eradicationist schemes targeting our land and people in the West Bank,” the movement said in a statement.

It added that the “intensification of settler terrorism underscores the urgent need for our heroic people across all West Bank governorates to launch a sweeping intifada (uprising) of rage to deter the settlers and repel their terrorist attacks.”

Around 860 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,700 injured by the Israeli army forces in the occupied territory since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry, cited by the Anadolu news agency.

(PC, Anadolu, QNN, AJA)

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