JERUSALEM — An Israeli air strike killed 10 Palestinians in the north of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday night, the Palestinian health ministry says.

Video footage reportedly from the town of Tamun showed chaotic scenes, badly damaged buildings and bloodstained streets.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted a squad of "armed terrorists" on guidance from the Shin Bet security service.

In contrast to Gaza, where there is an ongoing but fragile ceasefire, Israel has increased its military operations in the West Bank in the past week, particularly in and around the city of Jenin, just to the north of Tamun.

Hundreds of Israeli security forces backed by helicopters, drones and armoured vehicles have been deployed to Jenin and its refugee camp, long seen as a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

More than 20,000 people have reportedly fled their homes in the camp, where many homes have been demolished and roads have been dug up by Israeli bulldozers.

"It's terrifying, the explosions, the fires, the houses which were demolished," Intisar Amalka, a displaced camp resident, told Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

The Palestinian health ministry says 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and dozens more wounded in the Jenin area since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a large-scale operation to "defeat terrorism" on 21 January.

They have included a two-year-old girl, who died on Saturday after being shot in the head, and at least six members of armed groups, according to Reuters news agency.

The health ministry says another 14 Palestinians have been killed elsewhere in the northern West Bank over the same period, including the 10 who died in Wednesday's strike in Tamun.

On Wednesday afternoon, the IDF said Israeli security forces had killed 18 "terrorists" and detained 60 "wanted individuals" in recent days in Jenin and the Tulkarm area, where they began a separate operation on Monday. Numerous weapons had also been located and dozens of explosive devices dismantled, it added.

Hamas urged Palestinians in the West Bank "to engage by all means in resisting the occupation, its soldiers and settler militias".

During a visit to Jenin refugee camp on Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF would remain there once the operation was over.

"The Jenin refugee camp will not be what it was," he said. "After the operation is completed, IDF forces will remain in the camp to ensure that terrorism does not return."

The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned what it called Katz's "provocative raid on Jenin and his inciting statements". It also called on the US to intervene urgently to "stop the transfer of scenes of destruction from Gaza to the West Bank".

There have been a number of previous Israeli military operations in Jenin.

And recently, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority's security forces carried out a controversial, weeks-long operation against armed groups there, trying to reassert their control.

There has been a spike in violence in the West Bank since Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed as Israeli forces have intensified their raids, saying they are trying to stem deadly Palestinian attacks on Israelis in the West Bank and Israel.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this. — BBC