JENIN: Hundreds of people began leaving their homes in a flashpoint area of the occupied West Bank on Thursday as Israeli forces pressed a deadly operation. The Israeli military launched the raid in the Jenin area, days into a ceasefire in the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of Jenin residents left their homes on Thursday, prompted by messages from drones fitted with loudspeakers, witnesses said, as the military demolished a number of houses on the third day of a major operation in the West Bank city.

Israeli troops raiding Jenin in the occupied West Bank have set homes in the area ablaze, the Wafa news agency reports.

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

Gaza's Civil Defense reported that the number of bodies recovered from under the rubble in Rafah has risen to 137 since the truce began.

The ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas stretched into a fifth day on Thursday. Humanitarian aid groups are working to surge food and supplies to the war-ravaged territory as Palestinians scour through mountains of rubble.

Israel says it will maintain control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas. A statement by Prime

An Israeli tank killed two Palestinians west of Gaza's Rafah on Thursday, the Gaza civil defense said. Israel and Hamas agreed to halt fighting in Gaza in a deal that went into effect on Sunday.

An Israeli military operation continues in the Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank amid fierce clashes with Palestinian groups.

JERUSALEM — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the country's "steadfast support" for Israel, days into a fragile cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and a large-scale raid in the occupied West Bank. As Israel pursued its deadly operation in Jenin, Rubio assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Washington's continued backing.

The Israeli military said on Thursday that its forces killed two armed Palestinians in Jenin during the night, as its major campaign in the northern West Bank city enters its third day. It said the men were confronted near Jenin,