Mansour Saadi, deputy governor of Jenin, was quoted as saying by the Wafa news agency that the Israeli army “blocked all four main entrances to the city and its refugee camp with earth mounds, preventing entry and exit”.

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 large-scale raid for a second day.

As Israel withdraws some of its troops from Gaza during a cease-fire there, it has turned attention to another Palestinian territory — in particular a city with a history of militant activity.

The West Bank city of Jenin was the target of an ongoing Israeli "anti-terror" operation that claimed the lives of at least 10 Palestinians and injured as many as 40 others.