IDF expands northern Samaria operation to Nur al-Shams Camp

Israel’s military has expanded its “Iron Wall” counter-terrorism operation to the Nur al-Shams camp near Tulkarem in northern Samaria, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday.

“We are crushing terrorist infrastructure in the refugee camps and preventing its return. We will not allow the Iranian axis of evil to establish an eastern terror front that threatens the settlements in Samaria, the seam line, and large population centers in Israel,” Katz tweeted.

The move represents a further expansion of the operation, which began in the Jenin area on Jan. 21, with Israeli forces also targeting the area east of Jenin that includes Tubas, Tammun, Tayasir, Aqabah and Far’a.

As of the latest Israel Defense Forces update, around 50 terrorists have been killed and more than 100 wanted suspects arrested since the operation began.

As part of the latest wave of arrests in Jenin and Tulkarem, security forces targeted financial operatives, including money changers funding bomb-making, recruitment and arms procurement.

The ongoing security threat was underscored on Tuesday when two soldiers were killed and eight others wounded in a terrorist shooting in northern Samaria.

Despite the attack, “Iron Wall” continues at full force, with IDF Central Command emphasizing that “this attack only reinforces the operation’s necessity.”

Over the past month, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) agents, working alongside the IDF, have thwarted 90 major terrorist attacks, including 75 in Samaria, as security sources warn that Iran is fueling violence in Judea and Samaria.

A security official identified Tehran as a central force escalating tensions by supplying weapons and financial aid to terrorist networks, significantly increasing the security threat, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported on Wednesday.

The military has also announced plans to form a new battalion that will remain in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas beyond the duration of the operation.