Jenin camp braces for night assault as residents displaced
Dear Middle East Eye readers,
We'll be wrapping up our live blog for the evening on the unfolding attack by Israel on Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Thousands of Palestinian civilians were streaming out of Jenin late on Monday night local time as the refugee camp braced for a new night of assaults, with Israeli military reinforcements reportedly streaming into the city.
The evacuations have raised fears in the camp that the Israeli army may be planning more heavy aerial and ground attacks overnight, residents have said.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that more than 3,000 people have been evacuated so far with the number likely to rise. At least eight Palestinians were killed, including three children, and 50 wounded, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Four were killed from gunshot wounds and at least three died in air strikes.
The ministry said the number of casualties was likely to rise because there are a high number of critical injuries and because Israeli army bulldozers were blocking paramedics from reaching some areas.
Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Palestine, said she was "alarmed by the scale of [the] Israeli forces' operation" in Jenin.
"Air strikes were used in the densely populated refugee camp. Several dead and critically wounded. Access to all injured must be ensured," she said on Twitter.
Later in the day, a UN spokesperson told reporters that "it is not acceptable for there to be armed attacks in areas of high population density" when asked about the drone strikes.
The attack also elicited condemnation from Arab and Muslim-majority countries including Turkey, the UAE, Jordan and Egypt.
"We are deeply concerned that with these attacks, the current tension in the region could trigger a new spiral of violence," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement that called on Israel to halt the military campaign.
The UAE "strongly condemned the attacks carried out by the Israeli forces". The ministry, the statement said, "stressed the need to immediately stop the repeated and escalating campaigns against the Palestinian people" to abide by the provisions of international law and Security Council resolutions.
In response to the attack, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced it was cutting security ties with Israel. This is the second time this year the PA has severed contact.
The last time the PA made such an announcement was in May 2020, following the revelation of Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank as part of then-US President Donald Trump's controversial proposals for the region.
The PA move in January prompted concern in Washington that Israel's ability to carry out operations would be hindered. Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged to prevent escalating violence during talks in Jordan on Sunday.
US National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk arranged a summit in Aqaba in February with Jordan and Egypt to broker a deal to resume ties.
That's it for tonight. Please check back in the morning for all of MEE's latest updates.