Israel strikes West Bank targets, killing 7 Palestinians

JERUSALEM (AP): Israel used drones to strike targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and deployed hundreds of troops in the area, in an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least seven Palestinians were killed.

Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp at midday Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure

for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting attack last week that killed four Israelis.

Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp and the buzzing of drones could be heard overhead as the military pressed on. Residents said electricity was cut off in some parts and military bulldozers were plowing through narrow streets, damaging buildings as they cleared the way for Israeli forces in another reminder of the last uprising. The Palestinians and neighboring Jordan condemned the violence.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesperson, said the operation began just after 1 a.m. with an airstrike on a building used by militants to plan attacks. He said the goal of the operation was to destroy and confiscate weapons.

"We're not planning to hold ground," he said. "We're acting against specific targets."

He said that a brigade-size force - roughly 2,000 soldiers - was taking part in the operation, and that military drones had carried out a series of strikes to clear the way for the ground forces. Although Israel has carried out isolated airstrikes in the West Bank in recent weeks, Hecht said Monday's series of strikes was an escalation unseen since 2006 - the end of the Palestinian uprising.

While Israel described the attack as a pinpoint operation, smoke billowed from within the crowded camp, with mosque minarets nearby. Ambulances raced toward a hospital where the wounded were brought in on stretchers.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the military blocked roads within the camp, took over houses and buildings and set up snipers on rooftops.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least seven Palestinians were killed and over two dozen injured Monday, three of them critically.