Israeli forces withdrew from the city of Jenin and its West Bank refugee camp after a major nine-day operation there.
The area – which is a military base and has a population of around 60,000 – has been the target of one of the largest Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operations in the West Bank for years. The IDF said it was fighting terrorism.
At least 36 Palestinians were killed – 21 from the Jenin region – the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
Most of the dead are said to be members of armed groups, but the department says children are also among those killed.
An Israeli soldier was also killed during the fighting in Jenin.
The town of Tubas and the al-Faraa refugee camp were also raided during the operation in the northern West Bank – the deadliest since the war in Gaza began last October, which was triggered by Hamas attacks on Israel.
Hundreds of soldiers from several branches of the security forces were involved, with civilians trapped in their homes and utilities cut off as Israeli forces battled militants on the ground and with airstrikes.
Residents of the Jenin camp west of the city are taking to the streets for the first time since the IDF began its offensive on August 27.
Many, stunned and exhausted, slowly surveyed the damage – new layers of destruction marked the work in the camp.
Khalid abu Sabeer lives in a hut near the mosque. The entire floor of his house, he said, was blown away by the powerful explosion.
The Israeli army loved the cave under the building, he said, which had been there for decades, empty.
The IDF asked him to leave before blowing it up – and his house with it.
Years of violent conflict between the Israeli army and Palestinian armed groups are etched in the streets of Jenin – bullet holes scattered in the walls, piles of rubble left by military tractors, graffiti resembling M16 rifles, and the word “Hamas”.
Among the destruction is a hole in the center of the city – a broken and impassable highway.
Construction vehicles dig up tree trunks from the destroyed road and take them with them. Shopkeepers and photographers climbed over the rubble to survey the damage.
On the other hand, the crowd pauses to watch the reconstruction – citizens on foot, on motorbikes, on bicycles; out on the streets for the first time in over nine days.
The head of the public hospital in Jenin, Dr. Wissam Bakr, who is also present, says that the first four days of surgery in Israel were very difficult for this hospital – as electricity and water were cut off.
He said they were relying on generators and water tanks, with two newborns and two elderly patients on ventilators.
Down the same street, the sounds of the city have returned: the vendors are back at the edge of the market, the carts are full of fruit and vegetables; cafes all around are filled with generations of men and boys.
On Friday morning, gunfire erupted again in the refugee camp, signaling the start of more funerals. The BBC understands that at least eight of the dead are civilians, including a 16-year-old girl.
In a statement, the IDF said that in the Jenin area “14 terrorists were killed, more than 30 suspects were arrested, and about 30 explosive devices planted under the roads were dismantled” during the operation.
It said it also dismantled what it called “a number of terrorist infrastructure sites… including an underground weapons storage facility under a mosque, as well as a laboratory used to make explosives” and removed “a large number of weapons”.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says three Palestinians were also killed in the southern district of Hebron nine days ago.
The Israeli army said one of them carried out a shooting that killed three Israeli policemen near Tarqumiyah on Sunday.
There has been an escalation of violence in the West Bank since the attack on Hamas and the subsequent war in Gaza.
More than 600 Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces intensified their attacks, the Ministry of Health in Palestine said. Israel says it is trying to stop deadly attacks by Palestinians on Israelis in the West Bank and in Israel.
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