Explosions from Israeli air strikes on Gaza Strip were heard while its forces withdrew from Jenin in the occupied West Bank after two days of violence, in what is being categorised as one of the biggest military operations in years.
The air strikes were carried out in response to five rockets fired from the Palestinian coastal enclave, the Israeli military confirmed on Wednesday.
The rockets were intercepted, and there were no immediate reports of casualties.
"The operation is officially over and the soldiers have left the Jenin area," a military spokeswoman told AFP.
The invading Israeli forces started withdrawing from the Jenin refugee camp following the United Nations rights chief's call for an end to the violence meted out on the Palestinans including civilians in an assault launched early Monday.
The attack led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government martyred at least 12 Palestinians were martyred, killed an Israeli soldier killed and injured approximately 100 others apart from causing widespread destruction to Jenin’s refugee camp.
After the military withdrew, several Palestinians were seen returning and assessing damage in the Jenin refugee camp.
The air attack hit a military site of the Hamas group in the northern Gaza but caused no injuries, a Palestinian security source said.
Meanwhile, medical charity Doctors Without Borders condemned Israeli forces for firing tear gas inside Khalil Suleiman hospital in Jenin, calling it "unacceptable".
However, the Israeli military said denied firing in the vicinity of a hospital but said that it did carry out an air-strike at gunmen that had taken up positions in a cemetery and posed a threat to the withdrawing troops.
"At this moment we are completing the mission, and I can say that our extensive activity in Jenin is not a one-time operation," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a checkpoint near the city.
Palestinian health minister Mai al-Kaila even accused the army of shooting at Palestinians in a courtyard of the Jenin public hospital.
"Israel's aggression reached its climax this afternoon when citizens were shot at directly in the courtyard of Jenin hospital wounding three, two of them seriously," the minister told reporters, adding that forces had also stormed the Ibn Sina hospital.
The Israeli army said there were reports on social media regarding fire by soldiers towards a hospital.
"The reports are not currently known to security forces," it said, adding that "terrorist organisations have exploited civilian areas as a hideout".
Shops in Jenin were shuttered amid a general strike and the near-empty streets littered with debris and burned roadblocks.
"The most dangerous is what happened inside the camp, where there is no electricity, no water, and no roads for those who need to go to hospital," Jenin mayor Nidal Abu Saleh told AFP.
The Islamic Jihad claimed four of the 12 fatalities as its fighters. Hamas claimed a fifth.
Though the Israeli officials said there were no civilians killed, the United States stressed it was imperative to avoid civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council said it will meet behind closed doors as requested by the United Arab Emirates.
The United Nations decried the violence in Tel Aviv and Jenin.
The recent operation in the occupied West Bank and car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv worryingly underscore an all too familiar pattern of events: That violence only begets more violence," Daily Sabah quoted UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk as saying.
"The killing, maiming and the destruction of property must stop," Turk said.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967. The conflict has worsened since early last year, and escalated further under the Netanyahu government that includes extreme-right allies.
The Palestinians, who seek their own independent state, want Israel to withdraw from all land it seized in 1967 and to dismantle all Jewish settlements.
Netanyahu, however, has pledged to "strengthen settlements" and expressed no interest in reviving peace talks, which have been moribund since 2014.
At least 190 Palestinians, 26 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed this year, according to an AFP tally compiled from official sources from both sides.
They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians and three members of the Arab minority.
Additional input from AFP
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