Dozens of Palestinian terrorists arrested as Day #2 of IDF's Jenin operation continues

The second day of the Israel Defense Forces counter-terror operation continues as two operations rooms of the terror group were destroyed by IDF engineers.

Operation Home and Garden, the combined Israeli military and security operation, entered its second day with continued strikes in Jenin, meeting with limited resistance from terror groups.

The IDF has, so far, reported no injuries among the soldiers operating in the Jenin refugee camp. While there have been sporadic reports of fighting, an IDF official stated in a briefing this morning that “the resistance of the armed men tonight was low - they ran away when we arrived.”

After passing the 24 hr mark, IDF Chief of the General Staff LTG Herzi Halevi conducted a situational assessment at the Commando Brigade’s Headquarters in the Jenin Camp overnight.

The IDF is removing the source of terrorism before it results in further attacks. pic.twitter.com/zx6G4VyL6c

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 4, 2023

The official also reiterated the government’s claim that it had no desire to conquer the refugee camp.

“We did not come to conquer the [Jenin] refugee camp, this is not an operation against the Palestinian Authority, the target - the terrorist organizations of Jenin,” the official said.

IDF spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said Israel had arrested more than 120 suspects during the operation. Some of the suspects have since been released due to a lack of evidence tying them to terror groups. He also said that because of the rapid success of the operations, which has encountered little resistance, the IDF may complete the operation within the next 24 hours.

Hagari stated there were about 10 more targets the IDF had identified to be neutralized or destroyed.

Among the targets already destroyed were several operations rooms and five explosive laboratories, several weapons depots and a tunnel for storing weapons discovered under the al-Nasser Mosque.

According to the IDF spokesperson, the threat of rocket attacks from Judea and Samaria, as well as the IED incident in Jenin last month where seven IDF soldiers were wounded, was the reason for the IDF taking military action now. He also noted the IDF's elimination of Tareq a-Zadin during Operation Shield and Arrow, saying that Zadin was attempting to develop a rocket manufacturing lab in Judea and Samaria when he was killed.

“At the moment, rocket fire from Judea and Samaria is not a phenomenon that is developing to a significant scale, but it is certainly a phenomenon that bothers us,” Hagari added, saying that the IED incident was “an operational error that sharpened the need and timing to launch the operation.”

“We knew about IED production, but the experience two weeks ago – in which a tiger vessel mounted an IED buried under asphalt, something we have not seen anywhere else in Judea and Samaria – lit a red light that this was a larger event at a more advanced stage,” Hagari said.

All of these illegal explosives and weapons were confiscated today in the Jenin Camp. They were being stored in exclusively civilian areas, with complete disregard for the people living around.

We will continue operating to neutralize the threat of terrorism from the area of… pic.twitter.com/Rt8FiHCMfH

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 3, 2023

According to Hagari, that incident convinced the IDF of the need to immediately launch Operation Home and Garden.

While incidents of armed conflict between the Israeli military and the terrorist organizations have been limited, hundreds of residents of the Jenin refugee camp fled the war zone into the city of Jenin overnight, where ongoing clashes between IDF fighters and Palestinian terrorists continue.

Hundreds of men, women, and children can be seen leaving their homes and heading for the streets in videos posted to social media. Some could be seen raising their hands, while they marched quietly away from their homes in the refugee camp to quieter places inside the city of Jenin.

Overall, the operation has so far received broad support from within Israel.

Yesterday, opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke to The Jerusalem Post, telling them, “Our children are being slaughtered and Israel has every right on earth to defend itself and we from that position support the Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli government.”

Former Israeli Defense Minister and National Unity party leader Benny Gantz also expressed support for the operation.

“We are all one front against terrorism. Any determined and responsible action by the government will receive full backing,” Gantz said.