Israeli Forces Seem to Withdraw Camp   09/06 06:26

   Israeli forces appeared to have withdrawn from three refugee camps in the 
occupied West Bank by Friday morning, after a more-than weeklong military 
operation that left dozens dead and a trail of destruction.

   JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) -- Israeli forces appeared to have 
withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank by Friday morning, 
after a more-than weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and a trail 
of destruction.

   Overnight, Israeli armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the Jenin 
refugee camp from a checkpoint set up on one of the main roads, and an 
Associated Press reporter inside the camp saw no evidence of any remaining 
troops inside as dawn broke early Friday morning.

   During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting 
militants in Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camps in an attempt to 
curb recent attacks against Israeli civilians they say have become more 
sophisticated and deadly.

   Troops were pulled out of the Tulkarem camp by Friday morning and had left 
Al-Faraa earlier, but in a statement the Israeli military suggested the 
operation was not yet over.

   "Israeli security forces are continuing to act in order to achieve the 
objectives of the counterterrorism operation," the military said in a statement.

   Hundreds of Israeli troops have been involved for more than a week in what 
has been their deadliest operation in the occupied West Bank since the 
Israel-Hamas war began, employing what the United Nations called "lethal 
war-like tactics."

   The main focus has been the Jenin refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian 
militancy that has grown since the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war 
in Gaza nearly 11 months ago.

   Fighting in Jenin accounts for 21 of 39 Palestinians who local health 
officials say have been killed during the Israeli push in the West Bank -- most 
of whom, the military says, have been militants.

   The fighting has had a devastating effect on Palestinian civilians living in 
Jenin.

   Water and electric services have been cut, families have been confined to 
their homes and ambulances evacuating the wounded have been slowed on their way 
to nearby hospitals, as Israeli soldiers search for militants.

   During the operation, Israeli forces sent military bulldozers into the camp, 
ripping up roads in search of buried explosives.

   When asked by an AP reporter about the infrastructure damage caused to the 
Jenin camp, an Israeli military official acknowledged the destruction but said 
it was a result of a militant strategy planting explosives in civilian areas. 
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with military 
regulations.

   In the quiet morning Friday, Jenin residents took advantage of the lull to 
rummage through the rubble of destroyed buildings and take stock of the damage.

   Twisted rebar protruded from the concrete of collapsed buildings, and walls 
still standing were pockmarked by bullets and shrapnel.

   During the operation, Israeli military officials said they were targeting 
militants in Jenin, Tulkarem and the Al-Faraa refugee camp curb recent attacks 
against Israeli civilians they say have become more sophisticated and deadly.

   It was not immediately clear whether they were removing troops from the 
other two camps as well.

   In southern Gaza, health workers resumed vaccinating children against polio, 
continuing the second phase of a large-scale immunization campaign.

   Children lined up early in the morning outside a United Nations health 
center in Khan Younis to receive the vaccine, which was being administered by 
local health care crews in coordination with UNICEF and the World Health 
Organization.

   The first phase started Sunday in hospitals and medical locations in the 
central Gaza Strip. The final phase was to focus on the north, finishing Sept. 
9.

   The operation was undertaken as an urgent measure to prevent a large-scale 
polio outbreak after health officials confirmed the first reported polio case 
in 25 years, in a 10-month-old boy who is now paralyzed in the leg.

   The WHO reached an agreement with Israel for limited pauses in the fighting 
to allow for the vaccination campaign to take place. In all, the WHO hopes to 
be able to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian children in Gaza against polio.

   The war in Gaza began when Hamas and other militants staged a surprise 
attack on Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, primarily civilians. 
Hamas is believed to still be holding more than 100 hostages. Israeli 
authorities estimate about a third are dead.

   Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, 
according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which doesn't 
distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. The ministry reports 
that more than 94,000 more have been wounded since the start of the war.

   Israel has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other 
allies to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza, but Prime Minister Benjamin 
Netanyahu insists on a demand that has emerged as a major sticking point in 
talks -- continued Israeli control of the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow band 
along Gaza's border with Egypt where Israel contends Hamas smuggles weapons 
into Gaza. Egypt and Hamas deny it.

   Hamas has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations by issuing 
new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over both Philadelphi 
corridor and a second corridor running across Gaza.

   Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, 
the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of 
Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants -- broadly the terms 
called for under an outline for a deal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden 
in July.