Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jenin

Image source, EPA

There are intense exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians in Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

As well as the hum of drones overhead, there are regular bursts of gunfire and the loud thuds of explosions coming from the densely populated camp - which is now a closed Israeli military zone.

The Israeli army says its first air strike targeted an apartment, which was being used as a hideout for Palestinians who had attacked Israelis, and as a command centre for the Jenin Brigades - a unit made up of different Palestinian militant groups.

An Israeli military spokesman described the camp as having become “a hornet’s nest” for terrorism.

The Palestinians killed all appear to be young men or in their late teens - some confirmed as belonging to armed groups.

Dozens of Palestinians have also been injured in the intense fighting and ambulances say they’re struggling to reach them.

There are unconfirmed claims from Palestinian militants that the casualties include Israeli soldiers - and that they’ve shot down an Israeli drone.

We can bring you some more video from Jenin. This footage from the AFP news agency shows Palestinian militants firing guns during clashes. We can also see Israeli military vehicles driving through streets and smoke rising from buildings.

Jo Floto
Middle East bureau chief in Jerusalem

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

The Jenin refugee camp has been closed off because of the fighting, and this means ambulances are struggling to get in.

We are likely to see a lot of casualties, although those figures will only be confirmed once ambulances can reach the wounded and the dead.

If you're just joining us or need a quick recap, here's a look at the latest:

• The Israeli army has launched a massive military operation on the Jenin camp - home to Palestinian refugees - in the occupied West Bank
• So far, Palestinian officials say at least eight people have been killed and 50 more have been injured - while Israel says seven militants have died
• Israel's foreign minister says the country is not targeting the Palestinian people, but militant groups sponsored by Iran operating in Jenin, including in the camp
• But Palestinian PM Muhammad Shtayyeh has branded the latest operation "a new attempt to destroy the camp and displace its people"
• It's thought to be one of the biggest Israeli military operations in the West Bank in years, with fighting ongoing
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is due to chair an urgent meeting of the Palestinian leadership later today

You can read more about the camp and its history in one of our earlier posts. Stay with us for the latest updates.

Eight people have been killed by the Israeli military since the start of the operation, the Palestinian health ministry has said.

There have also been 50 people injured - 10 of whom are seriously hurt, the latest update says.

The raid in Jenin is ongoing, with thousands of Israeli troops believed to be involved in the attack on the West Bank city. Here are some of the pictures we're seeing on the ground so far this morning:

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Image source, Reuters

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Yolande Knell
Reporting from Jenin

I've now arrived in Jenin and can hear the loud thuds of explosions at regular intervals.

There are also volleys of gunfire coming from the direction of the camp. Then we hear the sound of heavy gunfire.

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jenin

The main route heading north into Jenin would usually be teeming with traffic, but it is now extremely quiet.

Along the road, we have passed piles of ashes from fires which were started by local Palestinians, protesting against the Israeli military raid early this morning.

We came across just a few municipal workers clearing away the remains of burnt tyres.

Shops and businesses across the city - home to some 50,000 people - are shuttered because of a general strike. Virtually nobody is on the streets, and there are just the occasional squeals of ambulances and the loud hum of Israeli military drones, which is more familiar from conflicts I have reported on in the Gaza Strip.

Large plumes of dark smoke can be seen rising ominously over the Jenin camp. We watch as a few Israeli military jeeps whizz by. Young Palestinian men hurl stones at them and are promptly fired at.

Rushdi Abu Alouf
Reporting from Gaza City

Palestine TV is reporting that President Mahmoud Abbas will chair an urgent meeting of the leadership this evening, to discuss the ongoing occupation and aggression against Jenin and its camp.

We'll bring you more detail on that as soon we have it.

In short, it's a refugee camp in the city of Jenin, which is located in the north of the occupied West Bank.

The Jenin camp has been around since the early 1950s and was set up for Palestinians displaced during the 1948-49 war, which surrounded Israel’s creation.

The UN's Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, says, external it's currently home to some 14,000 people, who live in an area of only 0.42 sq km (0.16 sq miles).

The camp was severely affected by the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. In April 2002, Israeli forces launched a full-scale incursion - known as the Battle of Jenin - in which at least 52 Palestinian militants and civilians and 23 Israeli soldiers were killed. The 10-day operation followed a campaign of Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel, many of which involved perpetrators from the city.

In the past year, Jenin and the camp have seen repeated Israeli military raids and local Palestinians have been linked to multiple shooting attacks targeting Israelis.

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

A Palestinian ambulance driver has spoken about the growing toll of the violence in Jenin, which has left many people injured.

Khaled Alahmad told Reuters news agency the situation on the ground was like a "real war", with Israeli air strikes targeting the refugee camp there.

"Every time we drive in, around five to seven ambulances... we come back full of injured people," he said.

Footage from the area shows smoke rising over Jenin.

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

This appears to be one of the most extensive Israeli military operations in the West Bank in years.

In the early hours of the morning, Israeli forces made unusual use of a drone to attack an apartment in the centre of Jenin’s large refugee camp, which it said was being used as a command centre by the Jenin Brigades - a unit made up of different militant groups.

Drones have since been used for further air strikes, and thousands of Israeli troops are now believed to be involved in what a military spokesman described as a “counter-terrorism operation” focused on seizing weapons and preventing Jenin from acting as a “safe haven” for Palestinian fighters

Amid intense gun battles, the Jenin Brigades have said its militants will fight back with their last breath and bullets.

The Israeli military says it does its best to minimise civilian casualties, but already there are reports of many injured with fears that uninvolved Palestinians will be caught in the crossfire in the crowded camp.

Image source, EPA

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has also been speaking about the situation in Jenin.

"What is happening is a new attempt to destroy the camp and displace its people. The heroic Jenin camp and its stubborn and steadfast camp are resistant to the occupation and its invasions, just like the rest of our cities, villages and camps.

"Our heroic people will confront this aggression that is taking place under the eyes of the international community. Where innocent people are bombed by planes, our people will not kneel and will not surrender, and we will remain in confrontation until this criminal occupation is over.

"The crimes in Jenin, Nablus and Gaza will not bring security to Israel as long as it assaults our people and works against the wheel of history."

Image source, EPA

Israel's target is not the Palestinian people, but militant groups sponsored by Iran operating in Jenin, the country's foreign minister has said.

Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, Eli Cohen said the Israeli military was currently "striking the terrorism hub with a great strength".

He says the battle is with the "proxies of Iran" like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which Cohen describes as "terrorist organisations" financed by Tehran.

"Due to the terror organisation and the funds they receive from Iran, the Jenin camp has become a centre for terrorist activity," Cohen adds.

He says Israel will "act in a targeted manner" and emphasised the military would take "any efforts to prevent harm to the local civilian population".

Yolande Knell
BBC Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Local health officials are saying four Palestinians have been killed in the Jenin refugee camp.

They also say 27 people have been injured this morning, seven of them seriously.

Another Palestinian was killed in a related protest near Ramallah.

An Israeli military spokesman earlier told the BBC of "neutralising" a set of three and then another four Palestinian "terrorists" in Jenin overnight.

Image source, Reuters

Hello and thanks for joining our live coverage, hours after the Israeli army launched a large-scale operation on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military says at least seven militants have been killed. Palestinian health officials say five people have been killed and 30 injured.

Using drones and ground forces, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was striking "terrorist infrastructure in the Jenin area", adding that the camp was a "terrorist stronghold".

Reports are continuing to come in and some of our colleagues on the ground are headed in to Jenin as we speak, so stay with us for the latest updates, images and analysis.