There have been intense exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and armed Palestinian militants in Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank, writes BBC.

The Israeli military began what appears to be one of its most extensive operations in the territory in years with drone strikes early on Monday. Nine Palestinians have been killed and 100 injured, health officials say.

Israel said it was putting a stop to Jenin being “a refuge for terrorism”. Palestinians accused it of a war crime. The Palestinian Red Crescent says its crews have evacuated 3,000 people - including patients and the elderly - from the camp to hospitals.

It says dozens of people had been detained by Israeli forces in their homes since early Monday, without being provided or allowed any food or drink. The Israeli military said there was no specific timeline for ending the operation, but that it could be “a matter of hours or a few days”.

Jenin has become a stronghold of a new generation of Palestinian militants who have become deeply frustrated by the Palestinian Authority’s aging leadership and the restrictions of the Israeli occupation.

The city has seen repeated Israeli military raids in the past year as local Palestinians have carried out deadly attacks on Israelis. Other Palestinian attackers have hidden there. In 2002, during the second Palestinian intifada, Israeli forces launched a full-scale incursion in Jenin. At least 52 Palestinian militants and civilians and 23 Israeli soldiers were killed during 10 days of intense fighting.