Videos circulated on social media of a large number of Israeli military vehicles entering the Jenin camp, where the IDF confirmed it was targeting terrorist infrastructure.
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"The Jenin Camp is a terrorist stronghold," the IDF tweeted. "We will not stand by idle while terrorists continue to harm civilians using Jenin Camp as a hideout." It shared a video with further context.
Video: Arab media
Israel Nitzan, acting consul general in the Consulate General of Israel in New York, called the operation, which has been named Home and Garden (Bayit V'gan), an "extensive counterterrorism effort." Nitzan added that the IDF struck "a joint terrorist operations center, which served as the joint operational command center for the Jenin Camp and terrorist operatives of the 'Jenin Brigade.'"
Terrorists would gather before and after attacks in the command center, which sheltered those wanted in terror attacks, Nitzan stated. It is also a "site for weapons and explosives" and "a hub for coordination and communication among the terrorists."
The Jenin Camp is a terrorist stronghold.
We will not standby idle while terrorists continue to harm civilians using Jenin Camp as a hideout. pic.twitter.com/iDcluNkmVP
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 2, 2023
The terrorist operations center is located mere steps from a hospital, a school and a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school, per a map that Nitzan shared.
"Iran continues to arm, train and finance terrorists in Judea and Samaria," tweeted Rep. Claudia Tenney. "I wholeheartedly support Israel's right to self-defense and will continue fighting against the mullahs in Iran supporting these terrorists."
Joe Truzman, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' Long War Journal, wrote that the Israeli operation in Jenin wasn't unexpected.
"Militant groups backed by Iran have been fomenting chaos in the West Bank for more than two years," he said. "Israeli authorities recognized that the situation was becoming critical, and thus made the decision to take action."
Videos that circulated purported to show airstrikes, fires and gunmen mobilizing. There are reports of at least one person – and perhaps three – killed and of injuries.
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