As fighting in Gaza stops, Israel launches major military campaign in West Bank

The Israeli military killed at least seven Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as the prime minister announced the start of a “large-scale military operation” in the restive city of Jenin.

The Israeli military killed at least eight Palestinians in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as its prime minister announced the start of a “large-scale military operation” in the restive city of Jenin – just two days after the Gaza ceasefire came into effect. Israel’s security cabinet launched the military offensive – which involved the Israeli military, police and Shin Bet security agency – to “eradicate terrorism in Jenin,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. The operation is called “Iron Wall,” he said. In response, Hamas issued a statement calling for “people in the West Bank and its revolutionary youth to mobilize and escalate the clash with the occupation army at all points of contact with it.” The Palestinian state news agency Wafa said Israeli warplanes struck Jenin and Israeli forces, including sharpshooters and armored vehicles, were surrounding the city’s refugee camp and stopping ambulances from entering. Videos from local journalists showed a large number of armored vehicles, including armored bulldozers, entering the city. It is not yet clear whether the eight killed were bystanders or engaged in hostilities with Israeli forces. Videos from the scene seem to show that at least two were civilians who appeared to be unarmed. Local residents told CNN that a man who was shot and later pronounced dead in a hospital in Jenin was a civilian.