Israel’s military operation goes awry as chilling incident rocks Tel Aviv

On Tuesday, a Hamas terrorist drove his vehicle into a bustling bus stop in Tel Aviv, proceeding to stab bystanders, resulting in eight injured.

The incident was hailed by Palestinian militant groups, being labeled as a retaliation against Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the West Bank, a territory under Israeli occupation. An armed civilian subsequently killed the attacker, as reported by the police chief, Kobi Shabtai.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces were carrying out their pursuit of Palestinian militants and weapons in the Jenin refugee camp, leading to residents fleeing the area in thousands. The incursion, one of the most intense West Bank military operations in almost two decades, started on Monday, causing the Palestinian death toll to reach 10 in just two days.

The massive raid bears resemblance to the Israeli military approach during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s. This escalation in violence arrives as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from his ultra-nationalist allies to respond strongly to recent attacks on Israeli settlers. Yet, the current violence differs from that of the past, with a more limited scope focusing on a few Palestinian militant strongholds.

Violence has been escalating since last year, resulting in more than 140 Palestinian and at least 26 Israeli casualties. Hamas, the Islamist militant group, labeled the Tel Aviv attacker as a “martyr fighter,” stating that the attack was a response to the military operation in Jenin. However, the attacker’s direct affiliation with the group remains unclear.

The assailant was identified as a West Bank Palestinian with no previous security record by the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency. Several people connected to the attacker were arrested, though specific details were not provided.

As the day progressed, the streets of Jenin were covered in rubble, with reports of damage to local shops and columns of black smoke periodically punctuating the skyline. Mayor Nidal Al-Obeidi reported that around 4,000 Palestinians had evacuated the camp due to the absence of basic amenities like water and electricity.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that the two-day death toll reached 10. Israel’s military claimed all were militants, but failed to provide additional information. In the course of the operation, the military purportedly seized weapons, explosives, and demolished tunnels underneath a mosque in the refugee camp.

Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, justified the operation, attributing it to around 50 attacks originating from Jenin over the past year. The Israeli military operation was condemned by the West Bank’s Palestinian self-rule government, and three Arab countries with normalized ties with Israel, including Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Israel asserts that these incursions aim to curb Palestinian militancy and prevent future attacks. Palestinians counter this, arguing such violence is a natural consequence of the absence of a political dialogue with Israel and the ongoing West Bank settlement expansion. Israel maintains that most of those killed were militants, although there have also been casualties among stone-throwing youth protesters and others not directly involved in confrontations.