Israel begins withdrawing troops from Jenin as Gaza is hit by airstrikes
Israeli troops have begun withdrawing from the West Bank city of Jenin after a two-day operation that left 13 Palestinians dead – as residents of Gaza say the territory has been hit by airstrikes.
Israeli aircraft are reported to have launched the strikes at militant sites in the coastal Palestinian territory early on Wednesday.
It comes after thousands were forced from their homes and buildings and roads were destroyed in the Palestinian city of Jenin in one of Israel’s largest West Bank operations in years.
The Israeli military said one of its soldiers was killed in fighting late Tuesday but gave no further details.
Israel said its operation was aimed at destroying and confiscating weapons as it struck a Jenin refugee camp, known as a bastion of Palestinian militants, early Monday.
Security officials said the two-day operation was coming to an end on Wednesday as sporadic fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants continued in parts of the refugee camp, delaying the pull-out.
Just after midnight, residents in the Jenin refugee camp said the army had left the area, and people began returning to the streets.
Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces during the operation in Jenin. Pic: AP
People returned to the streets after Israeli troops left Jenin
Palestinian health officials said 13 Palestinians had been killed and dozens wounded during the two-day operation.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said militants in the Gaza Strip launched five rockets into Israel.
It said all of the rockets were intercepted, but the launches raised the risk of fighting on a second front.
Residents of the Gaza Strip later said Israeli aircraft had launched a series of airstrikes at militant sites in the coastal Palestinian territory.
Emergency workers spray water into a damaged building as Israeli troops start withdrawing from Jenin
The developments came hours after a Hamas militant rammed his car into a crowded Tel Aviv bus stop and began stabbing people, wounding eight, including a pregnant woman who reportedly lost her baby.
The attacker was killed by an armed bystander.
Hamas said the attack was revenge for the Israeli offensive.
Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated the West Bank operation, one of the most intense in the territory in nearly two decades, was nearing its end.
However he vowed to carry out similar offensives in the future.
Buildings were destroyed in the Israeli operation in Jenin. Pic: AP
“At these moments we are completing the mission, and I can say that our extensive operation in Jenin is not a one-off,” he said.
As the pull-out was getting underway, the Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike targeting a militant cell located in a cemetery.
It said the gunmen threatened forces moving out of the camp.
There was no immediate word on casualties.
Israeli and Palestinian officials also reported fighting near a hospital in Jenin late Tuesday.
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Gunshots across West Bank’s Jenin
Big military bulldozers tore through alleyways, leaving heavy damage to roads and buildings, and thousands of residents fled the camp during the two-day operation.
People said electricity and water were knocked out.
The army says the bulldozers were necessary because roads were booby-trapped with explosives.
The military said it had confiscated thousands of weapons, bomb-making materials and caches of money. Weapons were found in militant hideouts and civilian areas alike, in one case beneath a mosque, the military said.
The large-scale raid comes amid a more than year-long spike in violence that has created a challenge for Mr Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is dominated by ultranationalists who have called for tougher action against Palestinian militants only to see the fighting worsen.
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CCTV shows moment of Tel Aviv attack
More than 140 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank, and Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis have killed at least 25 people, including a shooting last month that killed four settlers.
Israel has been carrying out near daily raids in the West Bank in response to a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in early 2022.
It says the raids are meant to crack down on Palestinians militants and said they are necessary because the Palestinian Authority is too weak.
The Palestinians say such violence is the inevitable result of 56 years of occupation and the absence of any political process with Israel.
They also point to increased West Bank settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers.
World
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Conor McGregor has spoken out after losing a civil rape case as a feminist march was held in Dublin.
The MMA fighter was accused of raping Nikita Hand, who was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) in damages on Friday after a jury at Dublin’s High Court found McGregor assaulted her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Nikita Hand.
Pic: PA
Posting on social media, the 36-year-old said: “I know I made mistakes”.
It comes as hundreds of people in Dublin staged a demonstration in “utter solidarity” with Ms Hand.
Posting on X, McGregor said: “People want to hear from me, I needed time. I know I made mistakes. Six years ago, I should have never responded to her outreaches. I should have shut the party down. I should never have stepped out on the woman I love the most in the world. That’s all on me.
“As much as I regret it, everything that happened that night was consensual and all the witnesses present swore to that under oath. I have instructed my legal team to appeal the decision.
“I can’t go back and I will move forward. I am beyond grateful to my family, friends and supporters all over the world who have stayed by my side.
“That’s it. No more. Getting back to the gym- the fight game awaits!”
Conor McGregor (centre) and partner Dee Devlin leave the High Court in Dublin after he lost a civil case.
Pic: PA
Speaking outside court after the decision, an emotional Ms Hand said the two-week-long civil case had been a “nightmare” but that “justice has been served”.
“It’s something that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life,” she added.
In Dublin on Monday night, a march in support of Ms Hand was organised by the socialist feminist movement group Rosa to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The demonstration in Dublin.
Pic: PA
Ruth Coppinger (left) and Natasha O’Brien at the solidarity march.
Pic: PA
Participants chanted “stand with Nikita” and “no more fear, no more shaming, we reject your victim blaming” as they carried signs and banners through the capital’s streets.
Ruth Coppinger, a councillor and general election candidate, and Natasha O’Brien, who became a public figure after a soldier received a suspended sentence for assaulting her, both spoke at the event.
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Ms Coppinger said Ms Hand was “an incredibly brave woman” and that she was watching the event via a live stream.
Ms O’Brien was cheered as she said she’d been “in awe” of Ms Hand’s courage and that Ireland had let out a collective “sigh of relief” after the jury found in Ms Hand’s favour.
McGregor was accused of having “brutally raped and battered” Ms Hand.
She was taken in an ambulance to the Rotunda Hospital the following day where the paramedic who assessed her told the court she had not seen “someone so bruised” in a long time.
Following eight days of evidence, and three days of closing speeches and the judge’s instructions to the jury, the jury of eight women and four men spent six hours and ten minutes deliberating before returning their verdict.
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