The October 2023 Jenin incursion occurred in October and November 2023 when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of raids in the Palestinian city and refugee camp of Jenin in the West Bank concurrent with Operation Iron Swords in Gaza.
IDF troops battled Palestinian militants in the Jenin and Qalandia refugee camps north of Jerusalem as Israeli soldiers stormed the two camps; the IDF seized buildings in Jenin and turned them into observation posts. The Israelis detained Hamas member Khaled al-Hajj during the initial 12 October raid. On 22 October 2023, international attention was drawn back towards Jenin after Israel launched an airstrike on the al-Ansar mosque in Jenin, which the IDF claimed was being used as a Hamas and PIJ command center. At least two people were killed in the airstrike, and Israel claimed that it had thwarted an imminent terrorist attack. At the same time, at least 42 Palestinians were arrested in Ramallah, Hebron, Jenin, and other parts of the West Bank. Clashes continued into November; on 9 November, Israel used bulldozers to destroy streets in Jenin, supported by helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft, following a shootout in the city that killed 15 Palestinians.