Palestinian youth run for cover near Jenin as smoke rises amid an Israel offensive in the occupied West Bank city, July 3, 2023 (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Hezbollah Monday condemned the large-scale Israeli raid on Jenin refugee camp in the north of the occupied West Bank, which included drone strikes and hundreds of troops.
"Hezbollah condemns the renewed Zionist aggression against Jenin camp, the intimidation of Palestinian citizens, the destruction of their property and the arbitrary terrorist killings and arrests practiced by occupation forces against them, in light of global and Arab silence that encourages the enemy to persist in its dangerous terrorist acts," Hezbollah said in a statement Monday.
"We, Hezbollah, extend our dear Palestinian people and their resistance factions our deepest condolences and blessings for the heroic martyrs ... We affirm our absolute support for their side and all the options they deem appropriate to deter the enemy and protect the Palestinian people and their sanctity."
In a statement released Monday, Lebanon's Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned "the Israeli aggression (...) against Jenin, which targets the entire population without distinction between civilians and combatants or between young people, children and the elderly, and in which it uses bombardment with warplanes and heavy weapons, deliberately harming civilians, preventing them from being treated, and besieging them."
The ministry praised "the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and their adherence to defending their land and their legitimate rights," and called on "the international community, once again, to assume its responsibility to put pressure on the aggressor to stop the aggression and protect defenseless civilians, in order to prevent escalation and protect international and regional peace and security."
The operation in Jenin camp, under the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is the biggest of its kind in years, deploying bulldozers, armored vehicles and aerial drones.
An AFP correspondent in Jenin said troops were inside the camp and also around the city and reported gun battles, explosions, and as Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli troops.
Israel had already stepped up operations in the northern West Bank, home to the city of Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp, a stronghold of armed Palestinian groups that has witnessed a spate of attacks on Israelis as well as Jewish settlers' attacks on Palestinian communities.