Israeli forces killed a Hamas commander in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday as they pushed ahead with a weeks-long operation against militant groups in the area that has sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes.

The raid took place as Israel’s military said it had expanded its operation to crack down on militants in the city of Jenin.

Dubbed “Iron Wall” by the Israeli military, the operation in the northern West Bank began days after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops carry out regular raids there.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians driven from their homes by Israel’s month-long offensive in the West Bank have scattered across nearby villages and towns, trying to find shelter

Israeli troops demolished houses and cleared a wide roadway through the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, in a weeks-long operation against militant groups that has forced tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

The Palestinian Authority wants to prove it can handle security in Gaza, even if it means working in parallel with a destructive Israeli campaign that has displaced tens of thousands.

The move came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a stop to the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Associated Press journalists saw a handful of tanks move Sunday into Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel.

Israel’s military sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than two decades as it expanded operations in the territory on Sunday in a move decried by Palestinian authorities as an escalation of aggression.