[Source: Reuters]

Hundreds of Israeli troops backed by helicopters, drones and armoured personnel carriers raided the flashpoint cities of Jenin and Tulkarm and other areas in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, killing at least 10 Palestinians.

The assault, one of the largest seen in the West Bank for months, followed a series of smaller raids in the area over recent weeks as Israeli forces sought to crush groups of fighters from Palestinian militant groups.

With Israeli forces battling Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip and facing a serious escalation of tensions with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Wednesday’s operation underscored the multiple security threats Israel has been battling since the start of the Gaza war last year.

The armed wings of the Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah factions said in separate statements their gunmen were detonating bombs against Israeli military vehicles in Jenin, Tulkarm and Far’a, a town in the Jordan Valley.

After the initial assault, the sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard from Jenin’s crowded refugee camp, a heavily built up township adjacent to the main urban district that has been a hotbed of militant activity for years.

Palestinian health authorities said at least 10 Palestinians had been killed in different areas of the West Bank by Israeli forces during the operation.

A short distance outside Jenin, blood soaked the ground next to a damaged car and an impact crater from a drone strike the Israeli military said had killed three militants.