Zubeidi, who earlier escaped from Israeli Gilboa prison by digging tunnel in 2021, expected to be released on Saturday as part of prisoner swap deal - Anadolu Ajansı

The city of Jenin, a Palestinian militant stronghold in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, has become a new front for Israel days after it reached a ceasefire deal with Hamas that suspended a 15-month-old war in Gaza.

As Israel withdraws some of its troops from Gaza during a cease-fire there, it has turned attention to another Palestinian territory — in particular a city with a history of militant activity.

In addition to Jenin governorate, Israeli forces have been stepping up their operation across the occupied West Bank.

At least 10 people have been killed in the raids, and more than 40 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Dozens have been arrested, Palestinian officials told the Wafa news agency.

A short while ago, with the direction of ISA intelligence, an AIF aircraft struck a vehicle with a terrorist cell inside in the area of Qabatiya. The forces continue with the counterterrorism operation in Qabatiya.

ActionAid strongly condemns the Israeli military’s latest assault on the West Bank and calls for an immediate end to the violence. Since Tuesday, the Israeli military has launched multiple raids across the West Bank,

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault on Jenin would be “extensive and significant,” as the military erected new checkpoints across the West Bank.

Jenin Deputy Governor Mansour al-Saadi warned Thursday of an Israeli military plan to carry out a large-scale invasion of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank, likening the potential operation to the Israeli genocide conducted in northern Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi by phone on Friday, China's foreign ministry said, the first call between the two top diplomats since President Donald Trump's administration took office on Monday.

Mansour Saadi, deputy governor of Jenin, was quoted as saying by the Wafa news agency that the Israeli army “blocked all four main entrances to the city and its refugee camp with earth mounds, preventing entry and exit”.