According to al-Quds, at least 20 PA Arabs were killed, and dozens more were injured, some of them seriously, as a result of the IDF Operation House and Garden.
Among the dead are Samih Firas Abu Al-Wafa, Hussam Muhammad Abu Dhiba, and Aws Al-Hanoun, all shot in the chest, and Nour Al-Din Hussam Marshoud who was shot in the head, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry.
The large-scale military operation in Jenin began with air strikes that targeted several targets, most notably the central terrorist headquarters which is at the heart of the camp and surrounded by schools and other United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration facilities.
The IDF reported multiple drone air raids, all carried out Monday.
An IDF soldier was lightly wounded during the operation from grenade shrapnel. He was evacuated for medical treatment. His family was notified. The soldier received treatment at a nearby hospital and returned to his unit.
If you can not lift the injustice, at least tell everyone about it.
Israeli enemy is attacking the city of Jenin???#RIPTwitter #emeutes #Palestineattak #emeutes #جنين #Pride2023 #Palestine #Jenin pic.twitter.com/MrYO37Uwad— Wesam AG (@elagha_wesam) July 3, 2023
The IDF announced Monday evening that its forces raided a central mosque where terrorists were taking refuge, and which served as a local ammunition and weapons depot.
“Holy places, such as the Al-Nasr Mosque, should not be used as a front for terrorism,” the IDF said in a statement.
“Packed with loads of ammunition, and two underground pits containing explosive devices, this is just one example of how terrorists abuse the citizens of Jenin.
“We will continue operating until the terrorists of Jenin are no longer a threat on the stability of the area,” the IDF added.
Palestinian Authority spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement that “what the Israeli occupation government is doing in the city of Jenin and its camp is a new war crime against our defenseless people.” He called on the international community “to break its shameful silence and take serious action to compel Israel to stop its aggression against our Palestinian people, and to hold it accountable for all these crimes.”
According to Kan 11 News, Israel informed the Biden administration some two weeks ago that it was going to have to carry out a more extensive counter terror operation in northern Samaria than its routine arrest raids of the past few years.
“We have seen the reports and are monitoring the situation closely,” a White House spokesperson said Monday. “We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups.”
Israel also alerted the PA security services about the operation and reassured them they were not a target.
?Fire rising from the targeted houses
The #Zionist occupation targets homes and mosques in #Jenin_camp with more than twenty air strikes#jenin #jeninunderattack #Palestine #IsraeliTerrorism #IsraeliOccupation #IsraeliCrimes #isranews #جنين #مخيم_جنين pic.twitter.com/pYlXQQB6DH— Palestinian lalosh??? (@Lilas38053784) July 2, 2023
There has been some confusion as to whether or not Monday’s operation has a name, since giving it a name is a recognition that this is a longer-term operation and not another, albeit on a larger scale, attempt to put out some local fires. Somehow, though, some security officials let reporters know the operation had a name, “Beit V’gan,” or House and Garden (Home and Garden also works), just like the Jerusalem neighborhood and the lifestyle magazine.
The Guardian’s Bethan McKernan reported in vivid color Monday morning: “Thick black smoke from burning tires set alight by residents swirled through the streets, while calls to support the fighters rang out from loudspeakers in mosques. Every entrance to the camp was encircled by Israeli soldiers.
“What is going on in the refugee camp is a real war,” said a Palestinian Authority ambulance driver, Khaled Alahmad. “There were strikes from the sky. Every time we drive in around five to seven ambulances and we come back full with injured people.”
Now, that’s war correspondence!
