JERUSALEM, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel continued its military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin for a second day, killing at least ten people, the military said on Wednesday. Palestinian sources also reported dozens of injuries.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that since the operation began on Tuesday, Israeli forces had killed more than 10 people, all of whom it said were militants.
The statement added that aerial strikes targeted "terror infrastructure sites" and that numerous explosives planted by militants were dismantled.
The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the troops killed at least nine people and injured 40 others.
Wafa reported that Israeli forces destroyed infrastructure and bulldozed roads in Jenin's Al-Hadaf neighborhood. Drones bombed an empty vehicle in the Jenin refugee camp, and Apache helicopters fired into the skies above the camp.
Also on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the operation represents a shift in the IDF's "security strategy" in the West Bank.
In a statement, Katz suggested the operation would be large-scale and decisive, saying it aimed to eliminate "terrorists and terror infrastructure" in the Jenin camp and prevent the resurgence of militant activity there, drawing lessons from repeated raids in Gaza.
Katz noted that he had visited the IDF command center on Tuesday "to closely observe the progress of the operation and reaffirm the policy."
The operation, launched Tuesday by the IDF, Shin Bet security agency, and Border Police, is dubbed "Iron Wall."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the raid aimed to "eradicate terrorism" in Jenin and claimed Iran was behind anti-Israeli militant activity in the city.
Jenin, located in the northern West Bank, is a territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. Israel has kept its control over the land despite international criticism.
The operation comes after a truce took effect on Sunday, halting fighting between Israel and Gaza. However, violence has escalated in the West Bank with the Jenin raid and a series of settler attacks on Palestinian villages. ■