Israel demolishes dozens of buildings in West Bank (VIDEO)

The operation has resulted in a massive forced displacement, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) demolished dozens of buildings in the city of Jenin located in the north of the West Bank on Sunday. Videos that surfaced on social media show the structures being destroyed in a series of powerful explosions.

The move was part of the ongoing “counterterrorist operation” launched by West Jerusalem nearly two weeks ago. According to the Jerusalem Post, the destruction of the buildings was ordered by Defense Minister Israel Katz, who reportedly demanded that any building linked to “terrorist activity” be removed.

According to WAFA, which is linked to the Palestinian Authority, the demolished structures were mostly multistory residential buildings. “A large number of families” were displaced because of the Israeli actions, the media outlet claimed. The blasts that rocked the area also damaged a local hospital, its director, Wisam Baker, told WAFA, adding that no casualties were reported in the wake of the demolitions.

Videos that surfaced on social media showed a series of nearly simultaneous explosions rocking what appears to be a single neighborhood in Jenin, with plumes of smoke and dust rising in the air as powerful blasts rock the area.

The IDF confirmed destroying a total of 23 structures, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The Israeli military also reported carrying out ground operations, including in the West Bank town of Tammun, where they claimed to have killed at least 50 “terrorists” and arrested at least 100 “suspects.”

According to WAFA, 25 Palestinians were killed and dozens more injured in the nearly two-week-long Israeli operation in Jenin. Some 15,000 people were forcibly displaced from the Jenin refugee camp and nearby areas. The IDF also reportedly destroyed the local water supply lines. West Jerusalem has not commented on those claims.

READ MORE: Israel launches ‘counterterrorist operation’ in West Bank

Dubbed the ‘Iron Wall’, the new Israeli campaign in the West Bank was launched just days after a ceasefire agreement was reached with Hamas in Gaza following a conflict that lasted for more than a year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated at that time that the goal was to “eradicate terrorism” in the area as part of a systematic and resolute” effort to target the “Iranian axis wherever it sends its arms.”