10 Palestinians martyred in most cruel Israeli operation in 20 years

JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) - Ten Palestinians were martyred, over 100 injured and thousands forced to flee in the most cruel and big operation launched by the Israeli forces in West Bank in more than two decades.

Launched early on Monday, the raid involving hundreds of commandos and air strikes prompted the Palestinian administration to say it was suspending contacts with Israel and stirred US and UN humanitarian concerns.

Codenaming the operation in Jenin's refugee camp "Home and Garden", Israel says the objective is to uproot Iranian-backed Palestinian factions behind a surge in gun and bomb attacks as well as preliminary efforts to make rockets.

A Palestinian wounded during the house-to-house clashes died overnight and another body was found in the morning, bringing the death toll to 10, with around 100 wounded, 20 of them critically, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The Islamic Jihad faction claimed four of the martyrs as its fighters. Hamas, another Islamist faction, claimed a fifth. It was not immediately clear if the other five fatalities – males aged 17 to 23 – were combatants or civilians.