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Israeli explosions destroy several buildings in West Bank

Thick clouds were seen rising from Jenin in the West Bank
Thick clouds were seen rising from Jenin in the West Bank

The Israeli military blew up several buildings in the occupied West Bank in a series of simultaneous explosions that the Palestinian state news agency said had levelled around 20 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp.

Thick clouds were seen rising from the Palestinian city where Israeli forces have been conducting a massive operation for nearly two weeks that the Israeli military says is targeted at local militants, including seizing weapons stockpiles.

The Israeli military said 23 structures had been "dismantled" in the northern West Bank after explosives laboratories, weapons and observation posts were uncovered by its forces.

In a previous statement, it shared images of firearms, ammunition, and what appeared to be gas canisters, but the military did not say where exactly the images were taken.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a statement urged the United States to end Israel's military operation and requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council "to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people".

Israeli forces began the assault on the city on 21 January

Jenin Government Hospital Director Wisam Baker told the Palestinian state news agency that part of the hospital was damaged in the explosions but that there had been no casualties.

Jenin is a crowded township built for descendants of Palestinians who were driven out, or fled their homes, in the 1948 war when the state of Israel was established.

Israeli forces, backed by helicopters and armoured bulldozers, began the assault on the city on 21 January, two days after Israel reached a ceasefire in Gaza with militant group Hamas.

It said 50 militants have been killed during the operations in the north of the occupied West Bank.

"So far, the forces have eliminated over 35 terrorists and apprehended more than 100 wanted individuals," the army said in a statement, referring to the operation which began in mid-January.

"In an advance operation, over 15 terrorists were eliminated in aerial strikes," it added.

An army spokesman told AFP the total included operations since 14 January.

Hamas called for an "escalation in the resistance" against Israel following the demolition of buildings in Jenin.

The Palestinian Authority, a Hamas rival, exercises limited governance over the West Bank where around three million Palestinians live and over which Israel maintains overall military control.

Israeli forces have engaged in gun battles with local militants since the operation began.

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Wednesday said security forces would stay until the operation is complete, without saying when that would be.

At least 25 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli military operation began, including nine members of armed groups, a 73 year-old man and a two-year-old girl, according to Palestinian officials.

The Israeli military said it killed at least 35 militants and detained over 100 wanted individuals.

Dozens of homes and roads have been destroyed by Israeli forces in the latest campaign.

The Palestinian state news agency also said that a 27-year-old man had been killed by Israeli forces raiding a refugee camp near Hebron.

Netanyahu seeks to deepen ties with Trump

Benjamin Netanyahu is the first foreign leader to visit Donald Trump since his inauguration

Meanwhile the Israeli Prime Minister is travelling to the US for a meeting with President Donald Trump, looking to strengthen ties with the country after tensions with the previous White House administration over the Gaza war.

Mr Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to visit Mr Trump since his inauguration last month, leaves Israel with the ceasefire in Gaza still holding and negotiations aimed at a second phase expected to begin this week.

"The decisions we made in the war have already changed the face of the Middle East," he said at the airport before his departure.

"Our decisions and the courage of our soldiers have redrawn the map. But I believe that working closely with President Trump, we can redraw it even further and for the better," he said.

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Mr Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes in Gaza, had strained relations with Mr Trump's predecessor Joe Biden and has not visited the White House since returning to office at the end of 2022.

Mr Netanyahu will begin talks on the second phase to the Gaza ceasefire in Washington tomorrow, his office said hours after the completion of the fourth hostage-prisoner exchange of the truce.

Ofer Calderon
Hostage Ofer Calderon reunites with family members at a medical centre in Israel yesterday

Mr Netanyahu spoke with the US President's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday and agreed that negotiations would "begin when they meet in Washington".

A date for formal talks involving mediators and delegations from Hamas and Israel has not been set, with the 42-day first phase due to end next month.

Mr Netanyahu's office said Mr Witkoff would talk to Qatar and Egypt, key mediators, before discussing with the Israeli premier "steps to advance the negotiations, including dates for delegations to leave for talks".

The second phase is expected to cover the release of the remaining captives and to include discussions on a more permanent end to the war, something several members of Mr Netanyahu's government oppose.

As part of the first phase, Hamas freed three Israeli hostages yesterday in exchange for more than 180 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli custody.

Palestinian prisoners
A Red Cross convoy transporting Palestinian prisoners released by Israel yesterday

Hostages Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas were paraded on stage by Hamas militants before being handed over to the Red Cross in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. US-Israeli Keith Siegel was freed in a similar ceremony at Gaza City's port in the north.

The Israeli military later confirmed that all three were back in Israel.

Later in the day, a bus carrying released Palestinian prisoners was greeted by a cheering crowd in the West Bank city of Ramallah, while three other buses were met by hundreds of well-wishers in Khan Yunis.

Four injured in Israeli attack in Gaza, medics say

At least four Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli strike on a vehicle on the coastal road west of the Nuseirat camp in the central part of Gaza, medics said.

The Israeli military said an Israeli aircraft fired on what it described as a suspicious vehicle moving towards northern Gaza outside the inspection route laid down by the ceasefire agreement.

Several Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli fire since a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas took effect on 19 January.

Israel said its forces have opened fire in incidents where "suspicious" figures, sometimes armed, posed a risk to Israeli forces deployed at some areas of Gaza as stipulated by the phased deal.

Hamas has described these incidents as violations of the truce.