JENIN: Hundreds of people began leaving their homes in a flashpoint area of the occupied West Bank on Thursday as Israeli forces pressed a deadly operation. The Israeli military launched the raid in the Jenin area, days into a ceasefire in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli military operation continues in the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank amid fierce clashes with Palestinian groups.

Israeli troops raiding Jenin in the occupied West Bank have set homes in the area ablaze, the Wafa news agency reports.

The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas stretched into a fifth day on Thursday. Humanitarian aid groups are working to surge food and supplies to the war-ravaged territory as Palestinians scour through mountains of rubble.

Gunfire and explosions rocked the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, as the Israeli military kept up a

Gaza's Civil Defense reported that the number of bodies recovered from under the rubble in Rafah has risen to 137 since the truce began.

Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation in the West Bank city.

An Israeli tank killed two Palestinians west of Gaza's Rafah on Thursday, the Gaza civil defense said. Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting in Gaza in a deal that went into effect on Sunday.

In Gaza, a ceasefire continues as humanitarian aid pours in, but Israeli tank fire kills two Palestinians. There's a significant toll on children, with many in need of mental health support. Meanwhile,

JERUSALEM — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the country's "steadfast support" for Israel, days into a fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and a large-scale raid in the occupied West Bank. As Israel pursued its deadly operation in Jenin, Rubio assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's continued backing.

In the days since a fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank.