Israeli forces withdraw from Jenin and its camp

Israeli forces have withdrawn from the city of Jenin and a refugee camp there, following a 10-day episode of "violent aggression", the Palestine news agency (WAFA) said on Friday.

Twenty-one people were killed in the city and camp, the Palestinian health ministry said in a statement.

A Reuters witness said the Israeli forces left behind extensive damage to infrastructure.

In a statement on Facebook, the Palestinian foreign ministry accused Israel of transferring to the occupied West Bank its brutal destruction and devastation in the Gaza Strip, as evidenced by the situation in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarm, and the refugee camps there.

Hundreds of Israeli troops have been involved for more than a week in what has been their deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war began, employing what the United Nations called "lethal war-like tactics.”

Their focus has been the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian groups that has grown since the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war in Gaza nearly 11 months ago.

Fighting in Jenin accounts for 21 of 39 Palestinians who local health officials say have been killed during the Israeli push in the West Bank.

The fighting has had a devastating effect on Palestinian civilians living in Jenin.

Water and electric services have been cut, families have been confined to their homes and ambulances evacuating the wounded have been slowed on their way to nearby hospitals.

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.

During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting militants in Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camp curb recent attacks against Israeli civilians they say have become more sophisticated and deadly.

It was not immediately clear whether they were removing troops from the other two camps as well.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry reports that more than 94,000 more have been wounded since the start of the war.

Israel has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other allies to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on a demand that has emerged as a major sticking point in talks - continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow band along Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel contends Hamas smuggles weapons into Gaza. Egypt and Hamas deny it.

Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over both Philadelphi corridor and a second corridor running across Gaza.

Agencies