Hundreds of families leave West Bank as major Israeli raid continues [Video]

Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes in the West Bank city on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the Israeli military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation.

The operation, involving large columns of vehicles backed by helicopters and drones, was launched in the first week of a ceasefire in Gaza that saw the first exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails since a brief truce in November 2023.

Israeli officials said the Jenin operation was aimed at what the military said were Iranian-backed militant groups in the refugee camp adjacent to the city, a major hub for armed Palestinian groups for years.

“We need to be prepared to continue in the Jenin camp that will bring it to a different place,” Lt-Gen. Herzi Halevi, the head of the Israeli military, said in …