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

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.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians driven from their homes by Israel's month-long offensive have scattered across nearby villages and towns, trying to find shelter.

The Israeli military announced Tuesday it had expanded its weeks-long offensive in the occupied West Bank to more areas of Jenin city, saying troops killed three militants although Palestinian

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 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.

Fatima Tawfeeq, 63, has lived through numerous Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank. She witnessed Israel’s takeover of the Palestinian territory in 1967 and lived through Israel’s crackdown during the first and second intifadas,

Watching her granddaughter sleep in cramped quarters for displaced Palestinians, Sanaa Shraim hopes for a better life for the baby, born into a weeks-long Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank.