However, heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants continued in parts of the Jenin refugee camp, which was delaying the planned withdrawal.
Shortly after midnight, residents of the Jenin camp reported that the army had left the area. The armed forces said a soldier was killed in the clashes, but did not provide further details.
In increasing tensions, the army said militants in the Gaza Strip fired five rockets at Israel. All the rockets were intercepted, he added, but such an offensive risks opening up a second front for Israel.
Hours earlier, a Hamas extremist rammed his vehicle into a bus stop in Tel Aviv and began stabbing people, injuring eight, including a pregnant woman who reportedly lost her baby, according to reports. The assailant was killed by an armed bystander. Hamas said the attack was in retaliation for the Israeli offensive.
On a visit to a military post outside Jenin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation, one of the most intense in the territory in almost 20 years, was drawing to a close. But he promised to carry out similar operations in the future.
“At the moment we are completing the mission, and I can assure you that our extensive operation in Jenin is not something isolated,” he said.
The Israeli armed forces reported that they carried out an airstrike on Tuesday night against an extremist cell located in a cemetery. They noted that armed men threatened soldiers leaving the camp. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Israeli and Palestinian officials also reported fighting near a Jenin hospital on Tuesday night. An Associated Press reporter who was at the scene could hear explosions and the sound of gunshots. Officials at a Palestinian hospital told the official Wafa news agency that three civilians were shot by Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli security official confirmed that soldiers had started leaving the site, but added that the withdrawal was complicated by fighting. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because there is no formal announcement yet.
Israel entered the camp, known to be a stronghold of Palestinian extremists, early Monday in an operation it said was aimed at destroying and confiscating weapons. Palestinian health officials said 13 Palestinians had been killed and dozens wounded.
FUENTE: Associated Press
