Israeli security forces backed by helicopters raided the West Bank town of Jenin, killing at least eight Palestinians in what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a "large-scale and significant military operation . "
The action, launched a day after US President Donald Trump declared he was lifting sanctions on ultranationalist Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian villages, was announced by Netanyahu as a new offensive against Iranian-backed militants.
"We are acting systematically and decisively against the Iranian axis wherever it extends its arms - in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and the West Bank," Netanyahu said.
The move in Jenin, where the Israeli military has carried out numerous raids and large-scale incursions in recent years, comes just two days after the start of a ceasefire in Gaza and underscores the threat of more violence in the West Bank.
Gaza-based Hamas, which has expanded its reach into the West Bank in recent years, called on Palestinians in the territory to escalate fighting against Israel.
As the operation began, Palestinian security forces withdrew from the refugee camp and the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard in cellphone footage shared on social media. Since the war began in October 2023 in Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and Israel, and thousands of Palestinians have been arrested in regular Israeli raids.
"On the morning of October 7, the IDF under my command failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel. My responsibility for the terrible failure will remain with me for the rest of my life," Halevi wrote in his resignation letter to the Defense Minister.
Meanwhile, Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi said he would resign on March 6, taking responsibility for the massive security failure on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out a cross-border attack on Israel.
Halevi, in a letter to Israel's defense minister, was widely expected to resign. He said he would complete the Israel Defense Forces' investigation by October 7 and strengthen the IDF's readiness for security challenges. (A2 Televizion)
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