Israeli military forces have withdrawn from the West Bank city of Jenin after completing a two-day operation.
Palestinian leaders accused Israel of conducting an “invasion” of Jenin, while Israeli leaders said the raid was aimed at “the Hamas terrorist organisation responsible for all terror activities emanating from the Gaza Strip.”
One Israeli soldier and 12 Palestinians were killed in the skirmish.
The conflict concluded amid an exchange of artillery when Israeli forces intercepted rockets fired by Palestinian militants and responded with a series of airstrikes.
ISRAELI FORCES REVEAL WEAPONS CACHES HIDDEN UNDER PALESTINIAN MOSQUE AFTER RAID
“Whoever thinks that such an attack will deter us from continuing our fight against terrorism is mistaken,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“We will continue as long as necessary to uproot terrorism. We will not allow Jenin to go back to being a city of refuge for terrorism,” he added.
Israeli forces revealed images of weapons caches found in secret underground rooms beneath a mosque in Jenin on Tuesday.
Israeli officials say troops acted on “precise” intelligence from the Israeli Security Agency and used “advanced technological tools to investigate the terrorist infrastructure embedded inside” the mosque.
Footage shows Israeli troops sorting through stashes of explosives and weapons.
Jenin has been a hotbed of Palestinian terrorist activity for months, with Iranian-backed militants using it as a base to carry out attacks within Israel.
There have been several skirmishes in and around the city throughout 2023, with Israeli forces carrying out operations targeting specific individuals and strongholds.
Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
