The Israeli army withdrew from the city of Jenin and its refugee camp after a 10-day operation that left 36 dead across the occupied West Bank, witnesses said, AFP reports.

After days of destructive incursions by soldiers backed by armoured vehicles and bulldozers, residents who had fled began returning to their homes in the camp, a bastion of Palestinian armed groups fighting against Israel, AFP journalists said.

On August 28, the army launched a military operation in several cities and towns of the northern West Bank including Jenin.

It said in a statement that Israeli forces “have been conducting counterterrorism activity in the area of Jenin”, without confirming a withdrawal.

“Israeli security forces are continuing to act in order to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation,” the statement said.

Over the course of the operation in Jenin, Israeli forces killed 14 militants, arrested 30 suspects, dismantled “approximately 30 explosives planted under roads” and conducted four aerial strikes, the statement said.