AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The Israeli military launched a huge raid on several towns in the occupied West Bank today, killing at least 10 Hamas militants, according to the group. The raid was one of the largest since the beginning of the war in Gaza, as Israeli officials say they are trying to root out militants to prevent an attack similar to the one on October 7. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi joins us now from Tel Aviv. Hi, Hadeel.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Hello.
CHANG: So what more can you tell us about today's raid?
AL-SHALCHI: So Israeli military officials said a large force had entered a number of towns that originated from refugee camps in the West Bank, most notably Jenin and Tulkarem in the north. I spoke to Jenin's governor, Kamal Abu al-Rub, this evening, and he described a chaotic scene.
KAMAL ABU AL-RUB: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Abu al-Rub told me that there was severe destruction of infrastructure, and they were under curfew. He also said that the power and water was cut off for most residents in Jenin. Abu al-Rub also said that it was difficult for people to drive to the hospital because not only was it encircled by the Israeli soldiers, but the roads were so badly bulldozed by the military. The military says it needs to do that to neutralize improvised Palestinian bombs planted underneath. The governor also said there's no way to go in or out of the town because it's still surrounded.
CHANG: What are Israeli and Palestinian officials saying about what happened?
AL-SHALCHI: So at a briefing this morning to reporters, an Israeli military spokesman claimed that the military had seen Iranian attempts to actively smuggle weapons and explosives into the West Bank to arm Palestinian militant groups. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, had been on a trip to Saudi Arabia to discuss the war in Gaza and the role the U.S. wants his authority to play there after the conflict. And he had to cut his trip short and returned home as news of the raid emerged.
CHANG: Well, I want to ask you because Israeli military raids into West Bank towns like Jenin - they happen pretty regularly, right? Like, so how is this one different?
AL-SHALCHI: Yeah, absolutely. You're right. So the raids, in general, have been on the rise since October 7, when Hamas-led militants launched their attack on Israel. These operations have been almost nightly, and the United Nations says more than 600 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed by Israeli military and also extremist Jewish settlers. But today's operations are probably the largest since an incursion last summer, when a thousand Israeli soldiers raided Jenin and killed 12 Palestinians over 48 hours. We're also seeing in these raids, after October 7, is the use of some tactics that the Israeli military is using in the war in Gaza - for example, drone strikes. When I visited Jenin last month, I heard those drones overhead, you know, always monitoring the areas where fighters can be found and prepared to strike.
CHANG: And when you visited Jenin, what was it like there? Can you just describe it?
AL-SHALCHI: Mmm hmm. When I was in the town, it was a very dire sight and eerily quiet. You know, so many residential buildings and mosques were blown up - the Israeli military says it does that because that's where militants operate from - electricity lines damaged, water tanks punctured, garbage strewn everywhere. You know, the walls are plastered with posters of killed fighters. And Jenin, you know, as a camp and then became a town, was created for Palestinian refugees after the 1948 war that established the state of Israel. And then today, more than 20,000 Palestinians live there. It's also known as the center of Palestinian armed resistance. I was told by a fighter that when they're escaping the Israeli military from other towns, Jenin is where they come to regroup.
CHANG: Well, I understand the raid - it's still underway. Is that right?
AL-SHALCHI: Mmm hmm. So the Israeli military, as far as we know, is still in Jenin and other towns. Ahlam Ismail is a woman I visited when I was in Jenin last time, and she called me today and said that there was a lot of fear, and people were sheltering in their homes.
AHLAM ISMAIL: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Ismail says she's worried that families will start to run out of the limited supplies they have at home because they're stuck.
CHANG: That is NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi. Thank you so much, Hadeel.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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