JENIN, Palestinian Territories — Israel pressed on with a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank for a fourth day Saturday, while fierce fighting raged in the nearly 11-month Gaza war.As Palestinian militants fought Israeli troops in Jenin refugee camp, a local official said soldiers had destroyed most of the streets while power and water have been cut off.A Gaza health official meanwhile said vaccinations had begun there following the first confirmed polio case in the besieged Palestinian territory in 25 years.The World Health Organization said Israel has agreed to a series of three-day "humanitarian pauses" to facilitate the polio vaccination drive, which would start in earnest Sunday.COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body which oversees civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, said it would begin at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT).In the northern West Bank, clashes and explosions persisted in Jenin, and both the health ministry and the Red Crescent reported two more Palestinians killed there.Israel's military said a 20-year-old soldier was killed and another severely wounded.Earlier, the military said two Palestinians were killed while attempting to carry out separate bombings overnight in the southern West Bank.Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war, hailed those attacks as "heroic."Hamas ally Islamic Jihad, which has a strong presence in the northern West Bank, said it "congratulates" those involved in what it called a "coordinated attack".At least 22 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since Wednesday in simultaneous raids in several cities across the northern West Bank.Hamas and Islamic Jihad have said at least 14 of the dead were members of their armed wings.Israel said it had killed "14 terrorists" since Wednesday in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.Since Friday, soldiers have concentrated operations on Jenin and its refugee camp, a densely-populated community which has long been bastions of Palestinian armed groups.Visiting the city Saturday, Israeli military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said his forces "have no intention of letting terrorism (in the West Bank) raise its head" to threaten Israel.
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