
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. AFP
As Israel pursued its deadly operation in Jenin, Rubio assured Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's continued backing.
Rubio spoke to Netanyahu from Washington on Wednesday night to "underscore that maintaining the United States' steadfast support for Israel is a top priority for President Trump," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.
He also "congratulated the Prime Minister on Israel's successes against Hamas and Hezbollah and pledged to work tirelessly to help free all remaining hostages held in Gaza," Bruce said.
Former US president Joe Biden had pushed for months for a ceasefire deal in Gaza. Trump sent an envoy to help push through an agreement before he took office, although the Republican has since said he is not confident the deal will hold.
In one of his first acts in office, Trump ended sanctions on extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank imposed by Biden over their attacks on Palestinians.
During his first term in the White House, Trump put forward a peace plan he and his proponents called "the deal of the century", which would have included major Israeli annexations in the occupied West Bank.
As Rubio and Netanyahu spoke, Israel's offensive in the palestinian territory was pressing on.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the assault had killed 10 people, and wounded 35 others.
One of them, Ahmed Obeidi, was killed by Israeli forces while picking up his child from school amid an assault on the camp. The child witnessed his father's final moments.
"The situation is very difficult," Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP.
"The occupation army has bulldozed all the roads leading to Jenin camp and to the Jenin government hospital... There is shooting and explosions," he added, referring to the Israeli military.
The Red Crescent said Israel prevented the ambulances from reaching many of the dead and wounded who lay in the streets of neighbourhoods around the camp.
Israeli forces have detained around 20 people from villages around Jenin since the operation began on Tuesday, he said.
An AFP correspondent reported hearing gunfire and explosions from the northern city's refugee camp where Israeli forces have carried out repeated raids.
Qatari news channel Al Jazeera reported that its journalist Mohammed Al-Atrash had been arrested at his home by Palestinian forces "to prevent him from covering the Israeli attack" in Jenin.
The Palestinian Authority's foreign ministry accused Israel of "collective punishment" and said the raid was part of an Israeli plan aimed at "gradually annexing the occupied West Bank".
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for "maximum restraint" from Israeli security forces and expressed deep concern.
Since mid-December, Israel’s army operations in the Jenin refugee camp have displaced 2,000 families, rendering the area “nearly uninhabitable,” according to Roland Friedrich, director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 848 Palestinians in the West Bank since the Gaza war began.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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