Israeli forces appear to have withdrawn from the Jenin refugee camp and two others in the occupied West Bank after a more-than weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and a trail of destruction, per the AP. In the quiet morning Friday, 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. Palestinians fear a widening of the war in Gaza. Israel says the large-scale raids in the territory were aimed at dismantling militant groups and preventing attacks.
During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting militants in Jenin, Tulkarem, and the Al-Faraa refugee camp to curb recent attacks against Israeli civilians they say have become more sophisticated and deadly. Troops were pulled out of the Tulkarem camp by Friday 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.
Senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately stalling ceasefire negotiations and urged the US and international community to put more pressure on Israel. The United Nations says the humanitarian situation in Gaza is "beyond catastrophic," with more than 1 million Palestinians not receiving any food rations in August and a 35% drop in people getting daily cooked meals. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)
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