Israeli occupation army is meeting fierce resistance and ‘major challenges’ in Jenin during that wide-scale operation it waged in the West Bank city overnight on Sunday.
The brutal aggression has witnessed so far, the deployment of warplanes, drones, and a large number of troops including special forces and commandos.
Jenin Battalion of the Islamic Jihad resistance movement announced it fighters were engaged in fierce clashes with occupation forces at the entrances and on several fronts across Jenin and its refugee camp.
حرب شوارع.. استمرار الاشتباكات بين المقاومين وقوات الاحتلال في مخيم جنين. pic.twitter.com/A6nzU8W4IR
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) July 3, 2023
The resistance group said it disabled and downed two Israeli drones over the city, and inflicted confirmed losses upon occupation troops by targeting their armored vehicles with fire and explosive devices.
“Tarek-1 explosive device has been used for first time, inflicting confirmed losses upon the occupation troops.”
Palestinian sources reported that Israeli helicopters were spotted transferring injured Israeli soldiers from Jenin to Afula hospital in occupied territories.
An Israeli military helicopter evacuates some of the Israeli occupation soldiers injured during the offensive in Jenin to a hospital in Afula, 1948-occupied Palestine. pic.twitter.com/VdMJO39UGv
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 3, 2023
For its part, Al-Qassam Brigades announced conducting a joint ambush with other resistance group, in which an Israeli armored vehicle was targeted, injuring or killing a number of occupation soldiers.
Israeli Walla News said that Israeli special forces were facing major challenges in Jenin as fighters are deployed to buildings’ roofs and explosive devices are excessively planted in streets.
Strikes in Jenin
Al-Manar correspondent in the West Bank Deeb Hourani reported dozens of strikes on the refugee camp and the city of Jenin, noting that explosive-laden Israeli drones also took part in the strikes along with the warplanes.
The strikes hit several targets including residential areas across the city and the refugee camp, our correspondent added.
Palestinian media reported that large numbers of Israeli occupation forces entered Jenin shortly after the strikes began and armed clashes erupted between the soldiers and Palestinian resistance fighters.
عاجل| مصادر محلية: قوات كبيرة من جيش الاحتلال تقتحم جنين هذه الأثناء من عدة محاور pic.twitter.com/1raehJ7tw1
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) July 2, 2023
Palestinian Health Ministry announced that nine Palestinians were martyred, adding that dozens of others were wounded in the Israeli aggression.
Israeli occupation forces block access of medical personnel to the badly hit areas of Jenin refugee camp, where many wounded are in need of urgent medical intervention.#JeninUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/UVEBRnkfIS
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 3, 2023
Shortly after the aggression was launched, Israeli occupation military said it was conducting an “extensive counterterrorism effort throughout the city and in the Jenin refugee camp.” In a joint statement, the occupation army and Shin Bet claimed they targeted “a joint headquarters used by the Palestinian factions in Jenin as an observation post, a gathering place for Palestinian fighters, a storage site for weapons and explosives and a contact and communication center for operative”.
Israeli media noted that air defense systems have been deployed across the Zionist entity, especially in the south, with several media outlets, including i24 NEWS reporting that the occupation army “is preparing for rocket fire from Gaza.
Electricity went out in Jenin refugee camp after an air strike, Palestinian media said, adding that several outages of internet was also reported. Palestinian media also reported that local residents burned tires in the entrance to Jenin refugee camp in order to hinder the advance of the occupation forces.
Palestinian Resistance ‘Fully Ready’
Jenin Battalion earlier voiced full readiness to confront the Israeli aggression.
“Criminal (Benjamin) Netanyahu shall know that we have been fully prepared for this day,” the resistance group in Jenin said, referring to the Israeli premier.
An hour earlier, the Islamic Jihad said “the Israeli occupation bears full responsibility for repercussions of the aggression in Jenin,” stressing that the resistance will confront the offensive by all means and that “all options are on table.”
“Aggression on Jenin won’t achieve its goals, Jenin will remain title of steadfastness,” the Islamic Jihad said in a statement.
The group’s spokesman Daoud Shehab warned that “If the aggression in Jenin is not over, retaliation options will be open and inclusive.”
For its part, Hamas resistance movement saluted Palestinian fighters confronting the aggression in Jenin city and refugee camp, stressing that the operation in Jenin is futile.
“Throughout years Jenin has proved that it is unbreakable,” Hamas said in a statement, carried by Al-Manar.
The group’s politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh called on Palestinian people across the West Bank to stand by the resistance in Jenin in order to foil the Israeli scheme.
Fatah spokesman in Gaza Monzer Hayek said that Netanyahu personally oversees the military operation in Jenin, noting that the Israeli PM’s aim behind the aggression is to divert attention from the Israeli political disagreements over the judicial overhaul.
Zionist Circles
The Israeli analysts and media outlets indicated warned that the ongoing attack on Jenin may not lead to any outcome, adding that it may involve ‘Israel’ in an all-out confrontation with the entire axis of resistance.
Amos Yadlin, former military intelligence chief, said that Hezbollah and Hamas hope that an all-out battle erupts, adding that the Zionists must focus on the northern front.
Source: Palestinian and Israeli media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)
