Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday, after factions there fired rockets into Israel overnight. The military said it hit a Hamas weapons production and underground facilities. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted the rockets but s one house was hit by parts of a rocket, in the southern city of Sderot causing damage but no injuries.
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Israel had been bracing for rocket fire from the Gaza factions during its offensive on the West Bank and had deployed the Iron Dome batteries to the border area and around the center of the country.
The military said earlier that one active serviceman Srg. Major David Yehuda Izhak, 23, from the settlement of Beit El, was killed in Jenin during the IDFs counterterrorism offensive there. He was critically hurt during exchanges of fire in the Jenin refugee camp and was airlifted to hospital but succumbed to his wounds. His family was informed.
The military said on Wednesday, that it had pulled its forces out of the city of Jenin and its refugee camp having completed its mission there after two days of fighting, but forces remained on the perimeter of the city. According to a military spokesperson, at least 18 Palestinian terrorists were killed in the special operation.
Palestinian Authority civil defense officials entered the Jenin refugee camp after IDF troops pulled out along with medical teams who were searching the camp for wounded and dead. Water infrastructure in the camp was severely damaged during the military offensive and power cuts were reported. According to local media reports, the refugee camp suffered major damage and destruction.
A spokesperson for the Hamas terror group hailed residents of the camp for their "resistance, and victory over the Zionist enemy."