The Israel Defense Forces insisted it was “not forcing the Palestinians to evacuate,” but said it had “allowed residents of the camp to evacuate … through an organized and secured point.”

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 the days since a fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers have rampaged through two Palestinian towns.

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

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.

An Israeli airstrike killed two Hamas militants in Tulkarm, escalating tensions in the West Bank amid a Gaza ceasefire. The Israeli military targeted a local Hamas leader, while ongoing operations in Jenin involve hundreds of troops.

The action came a day after President Donald Trump said he will lift sanctions on ultranationalist Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian villages.

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.

The Israeli army conducted large-scale operations in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin for the third consecutive day, killing at least 12 people, said the official Palestinian news agency WAFA on Thursday.