The IDF on Wednesday began an extensive ground operation against terrorist nests in Jenin and Tulkarm in northern Samaria. Combat helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles of the Air Force also participated in the operation.
Operation Summer Camps is the largest that has been carried out in Judea and Samaria since Operation Protective Shield in 2002 which broke the terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. The operation is carried out by a division-size force, with some of the fighters arriving in the targeted areas on helicopters. Covert forces are also involved in the operation and various “fraudulent methods” are being used to mislead the enemy. Heavy exchanges of fire erupted with the arrival of the fighters at every location.
צה”ל פתח בשעה זו במבצע צבאי גדול בצפון השומרון לחיסול מחבלים וסיכול טרור, שם המבצע: מחנות קיץ, כוחות גדולים מלווים בטרקטורים נכנסים לג’נין, ולמספר מחנות פליטים פלסטינים שם שוהים מחבלים רבים המהווים סיכון ביטחוני לאזרחי מדינת ישראל.
בתיעוד: טרקטור מבצע טיפול בכביש לחשיפת מטענים. pic.twitter.com/5ywTI0RJY6
— דוד קשת (@David_Keshet_1) August 27, 2024
Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted Wednesday morning: “Iran is working to establish an eastern terrorist front against Israel in the Judea and Samaria, according to the Gaza and Lebanon model, by financing and arming terrorists and smuggling advanced weapons from Jordan. We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required. This is a war for everything and we must win it.”
According to WAFA, two Arab terrorists were killed Tuesday night as Israeli forces started a wide-scale raid on the city of Jenin. The IDF launched a major offensive in the city of Tulkarm, besieging hospitals and blocking the movement of PA Arabs into and out of the city. Military vehicles were stationed around the Al-Israa Specialized Hospital and the Shahid Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarm. The forces imposed a blockade that hindered ambulance movements.
? צה״ל סגר את כל הכניסות לעיר ג’נין במחסומי עפר ומכתר את כל בתי החולים בעיר?
– שם המבצע – “מחנות קיץ”
– הערבים קוראים למבצע: ״הלוחמים החופשיים״
– צה״ל נכנס גם לעיירה קבטיה
– הדחפורים מגלחים את כבישי השומרון למניעת מטענים
– צה״ל הקיף גם את בתי החולים בטול כרם
– עוד חיסול מהאוויר… pic.twitter.com/Th1CbfPRfg— אור פיאלקוב (@orfialkov) August 28, 2024
The forces spread through various neighborhoods and intersections of the city, and the Nur Shams “refugee camp.” There was a significant presence of IDF infantry and snipers in the surrounding fields and farms, accompanied by low-flying reconnaissance drones.
Additionally, the Israeli forces deployed four heavy bulldozers supported by other military vehicles in the city. The bulldozers razed infrastructure and water networks around the Al-Alami Roundabout, closing the area with earthen barriers. They further damaged the area around the Younis Roundabout in the northern part of Tulkarm.
A drone strike targeted a location in the Al-Manshiya neighborhood of the Nur Shams camp, resulting in injuries to civilians. The exact number of casualties remains unknown due to the ongoing siege by Israeli forces, which has obstructed ambulance access to the camp.
According to Al Quds, three young men were killed after an Israeli drone bombed a vehicle in the village of Seir, southeast of Jenin, at dawn on Wednesday. The Red Crescent said its crews retrieved three “martyrs” from inside the vehicle that was bombed between the villages of Seir and Masiliya, south of Jenin, and they are being transferred to the hospital.
In Tubas, four young men were killed and others were injured at dawn on Wednesday as a result of an Israeli drone strike on the Fara’a camp, south of Tubas. Medical sources reported that four were killed and several young men were injured after the IDF carried out a drone strike on the Fara’a camp. The IDF stormed the camp at midnight with a large number of infantry soldiers, followed by military reinforcements to the camp from the Hamra military checkpoint, accompanied by a bulldozer.
The IDF also deployed many snipers inside and around the camp and imposed a siege on the camp, amidst the outbreak of clashes, and at the same time “the camp’s skies are witnessing intensive flying of drones,” according to Al Quds.
Several attempts of massive bomb attacks on Israeli civilian centers, including a synagogue in south Tel Aviv, emerged from the camps in Jenin and Tulkarm.
