Israel-Palestine latest: Israeli forces withdraws from Jenin after deadly raid that killed 13

Israel’s minister of national security Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the scene of a car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv that injured eight people.

Israeli security and rescue forces were seen examining the scene, where one person was reportedly stabbed before the suspected attacker was shot dead by an armed civilian

Ben-Gvir praised the “brave citizen” for shooting the suspected attacker, saying their actions prevented the escalation of the situation further and saved lives.

He added that the “neutralisation” is proof of the importance and effectiveness of armed civilians.

The Israel Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai also visited the scene.

A suspected Palestinian car-ramming and stabbing attack injured at least eight people in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Israeli police have said.

A medical official said the incident appeared to have included at least one stabbing victim, and that a suspected assailant had been “neutralised” by first-responders.

Islamist militant group Hamas claimed the attack was carried out by one of its members as a response to Israel’s ongoing military operation in the occupied West Bank.

UN aid agencies have voiced alarm at the scale of the ongoing Israeli military operation in the West Bank town of Jenin, where 10 Palestinians have been killed, saying there were restrictions on medical access.

The operation, which involved drone strikes and hundreds of troops and was one of the largest of its kind in years, entered a second day on Tuesday, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people from a refugee camp.

“We are alarmed at the scale of air and ground operations that are taking place in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and air strikes hitting a densely populated refugee camp,” Vanessa Huguenin, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, told a briefing, saying three minors were among those killed. She did not immediately respond to a request for the victims’ ages.

Damage to infrastructure caused by air strikes have cut off most of the water and electricity at the camp, she added. The Palestinian Red Crescent previously said it has evacuated around 3,000 people.

The Red Cross said it was “extremely concerned by the alarming intensification of armed violence” in Jenin.

The World Health Organization and medical charity MSF both raised concerns about access.

“Attacks against healthcare including prevention of access to persons injured are extremely concerning,” said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, adding that restrictions put in place by Israeli forces meant first responders could not reach those critically injured within the camp.

Medical charity MSF said that military bulldozers had destroyed roads leading to the camp, making it nearly impossible for ambulances to reach patients.

“Palestinian paramedics have been forced to proceed on foot, in an area with active gunfire and drone strikes,” it said.

Israel says the objective of its operation is to uproot Iranian-backed Palestinian factions behind a surge in gun and bomb attacks, as well as preliminary efforts to make rockets.

“Israel ensures that humanitarian assistance is provided and does not apply any limitation on access for medical staff, except in places where the lives of medical staff is at risk due to exchanges of fire,” its diplomatic mission in Geneva said in a statement.

Hamas has claimed the car-ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv was carried out by one of its members.

The group said the suspected attacker struck Israel’s commercial capital in retaliation for the ongoing military raid in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin, in which 10 Palestinians have been killed during clashes with local gunmen.

“This heroic (Tel Aviv) operation is an act of self-defence in the face of the ongoing Zionist massacre in Jenin, the crimes of displacement, killing and destruction executed by occupation forces,” Hamas said in a statement.

The UK is urging the Israeli Defence Forces to “demonstrate restraint, to adhere to the principles of international humanitarian law and to prioritise the protection of civilians”, a Foreign Office minister, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, has said.

Labour and senior Conservative MPs have called on the Government to take action aimed at bringing the conflict in Israel to an end.

Shadow Foreign Office minister Wayne David told the Commons: “The only real solution will be a settlement based on two states, a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and independent Palestinian state.

“We strongly oppose actions which are making this two-state solution harder to achieve. So my question to the minister, my fundamental question, is what of substance is the minister and the Government doing to bring this immediate conflict to an end and lay the foundations for a two-state solution?”

Tory former minister Crispin Blunt said: “Understanding that this comes in the context of Israel building settlements that block the route to a settlement of this dispute, and understanding that Israel is failing to show restraint, failing to follow international humanitarian law, failing to protect civilians, what is the Government actually going to do?”

Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the UK had last week sent a co-ordinated message alongside Canada and Australia condemning illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, adding: “We will continue to work with our friends and allies to make that message clearly heard.”

A Conservative MP suggested Israel’s raid on the West Bank was a “proportionate attempt to reduce terrorism”, eliciting groans from the Opposition.

Harrow East MP Bob Blackman told the Commons: “So far, the Operation Home And Garden has resulted in the destruction of three labs, hundreds of IEDs, thousands of grenades, underneath the mosque there were two tunnels with hundreds of weapons, 120 people have been arrested and clearly the terrorist activity is going to be severely limited.

“Behind all this is the IRGC (Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) and Hamas, and the Jenin Battalion. Does she agree with me that this is a proportionate attempt to reduce terrorism against the state of Israel?”

Following groans of protest from opposition MPs, Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “As I say, whilst the UK remains absolutely resolute in its commitment to Israel’s security and we condemn absolutely Hamas and other terrorist groups use of indiscriminate force, we call on all parties to maintain a proportionate balance so that we can de-escalate the existing situation and ensure that civilians are not caught up in this any more.”

A Labour MP has urged the foreign secretary to “immediately suspend” all arms sales to the Israel Defence Forces.

Asking an urgent question, Cynon Valley MP Beth Winter told the Commons: “The UK currently holds the presidency of the UN Security Council and it is therefore responsible for guiding the response of the Security Council to requests made by the Palestinian authority. So can I please ask, what is the UK Government doing in its capacity as president of the UN Security Council?”

She went on: “Can the foreign secretary say what steps he will take to reveal whether the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) has made any use of UK’s arms sold to Israel in this attack and will he immediately suspend all arms sales, including surveillance technology, and will he ban collaboration between the UK and Israel’s armed forces and military industries as a result of this horrific attack on civilians?”

Foreign Office minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan replied: “As I say, whilst the UK will always support Israel’s right to self-defence, the protection of civilians and particularly children must always be prioritised.”

Emergency services attended the scene of a car ramming after seven people were injured in an attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, 4 July. Holly Patrick reports: