Israeli attacks in West Bank's Jenin prompts many Palestinians to flee

July 3 (UPI) -- Israeli forces launched a massive military operation in the occupied West Bank, targeting what officials said was a terrorist headquarters within a Palestinian city's refugee camp.

The Israel Defense Forces said early Monday that security forces were conducting "an extensive counterterrorism effort" in the area of Jenin, a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank where Israel has conducted a series of recent raids and home to a refugee camp of more than 10,000 people that has been framed as a center of Palestinian resistance.

The officials said a "joint operations center" of militant group the Jenin Brigades within the camp was hit by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet.

The operational command center purportedly served as an advanced observation and reconnaissance center where accused armed terrorists would gather before and after conducting terrorist activities, the IDF said in a statement published to Telegram, adding that it is also a site where weapons and explosives were stored and was used as a coordination and communications hub.

"The purpose is to thwart terrorist infrastructures, harm terrorists, arrest wanted persons, thwart headquarters and military bases, explosives and explosives laboratories," IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a separate statement. "All these actions will harm Jenin's status as a city of refuge for terrorists."

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant confirmed the operation on Twitter, stating his forces were concentrating on "the centers of terrorism in Jenin."

"Against terrorism we will take an offensive and proactive approach -- anyone who harms the citizens of Israel will pay a heavy price," he said. "We closely monitor the behavior of our enemy -- the security system is prepared for any scenario."

At least eight people have died and 80 have been injured, CNN reports. At least five of those killed were teenagers, according to Palestine's Ministry of Health. A Palestinian was also killed by the IDF in a separate incident near Ramallah.

Palestinians have begun evacuating the city en masse, the Times of Israel reports. The IDF denies issuing an evacuation order, instead stating that residents are leaving the city to distance themselves from the conflict. Jenin has a population of about 40,000 people.

The attack was condemned by the Palestinian presidency as a war crime.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the presidency, said in a statement reported by Palestinian WAFA New Agency, that "what the Israeli occupation government is doing in the city of Jenin and its camp is a new war crime against our defenseless people."

"All these crimes committed by the occupation government and its terrorist settlers will not achieve security and stability for them unless our Palestinian people also feel free."

The Palestinian Authority's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement that the attack on Jenin involved fighter jets, more than 200 military vehicles and at least 1,300 soldiers.

It called on the international community to not be convinced by Israel's attempts to reduce its actions in the West Bank when what it is engaging in is "open military war on our people in general and on Jenin and its camp in particular."

The ministry also condemned the attack and states that Israel bears full responsibility for "repercussions and the resulting crimes against unarmed civilians, including targeting ambulances, crews and health centers," as well as for targeting mosques, homes and infrastructure.

"The ministry demands urgent international and American action to immediately stop the aggression, and calls on the international community to break its silence and start holding Israeli war criminals accountable," it said in a separate statement.

Jenin's local government has urged residents to ration their water use, warning that the IDF is deliberately attacking its water infrastructure. It said the security forces are preventing city crews from performing repairs on main lines.

More Arab nations and several organizations have joined in condemning the attack, including the foreign ministries of Egypt and Jordan, as well as Iran and Turkey. Egypt decried Israel's excessive use of force against civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likened the raid to America establishing its independence while speaking at the U.S. Embassy's Fourth of July celebration, The Jerusalem Post reports.

"Freedom is precious and it's never free. Often, it involves firm and decisive efforts against those who seek to destroy it and pursue terror," Netanyahu said. "Israeli soldiers are doing everything to avoid civilian casualties as Israel does everything to exercise its right to self-defense."

Israel has claimed ownership of the West Bank since 1967, though its occupation is widely regarded as illegal by the international community, including by the United Nations.

The attack comes some two weeks after the Israel Defense Forces killed five Palestinians, including a child, during a raid on the refugee camp and subsequent firefight.

According to the United Nations, the Jenin Camp was established in 1953.