Hundreds of people are reported to be leaving Jenin on the West Bank, where Israel launched a larger offensive on Tuesday. According to the mayor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, the Israeli evacuation order was communicated through megaphones attached to drones and armored vehicles.
The army is in front of my house. They can go in at any time, says Jenin resident Salim Saadi to AFP.
However, the Israeli military claims not to have knowledge of any evacuations in Jenin, reports the news agency.
"Next Jabalia"
But among the residents, anxiety is growing.
We heard threats to make Jenin the next Jabalia, that's what the Israeli government is planning to appease Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, says a supporter of the secular al-Fatah to the Israeli Haaretz in Jenin.
Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's ultra-nationalist finance and security ministers, have both threatened to bring down the government due to the agreed ceasefire with Hamas.
In total, 13 Palestinian militiamen have been killed since Israel launched its ongoing offensive in Jenin, according to an officer in the army to The Times of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the goal is to "eradicate terrorism" in the area.
According to an AFP photographer in Jenin, several Palestinians have been arrested. The photographer says he saw a long row of men, dressed in white overalls and with blindfolds, being taken away from the West Bank.
Responsible for terror attack
Two of the 13 were killed on Thursday, according to Israeli media. They are said to have been among those responsible for a terror attack on a bus on the occupied West Bank earlier in January, in which three Israelis were killed and six others injured.
The terrorist-stamped Hamas claims that the men belong to the movement, but according to the Israeli military, they belong to Islamic Jihad. The two extremist groups are allies and sometimes carry out attacks together.
The West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. Within the framework of the occupation, the Palestinian al-Fatah is responsible for limited self-government on the West Bank, through the Palestinian Authority (PA).
