Days after the Gaza ceasefire took hold, the Israeli military launched its largest offensive in years in the occupied West Bank, displacing tens of thousands.

Israel's pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The raid took place as Israel’s military said it had expanded its operation to crack down on militants in the city of Jenin.

Israel launched a major military incursion in the northern West Bank in August, which it called “Operation Summer Camps.” It sent armored vehicles into the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, severing water and electricity and leading Palestinians to ration food, residents told CNN.

Israeli forces killed a Hamas commander in the West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday as they pushed ahead with a weeks-long operation against militant groups in the area that has sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing their homes.

Israel's military told Reuters the works were for security and to allow it to patrol the area following the killing of an Israeli civilian in August near the village by a man from another town. It did not detail what it was building there.

A major offensive in the occupied West Bank which over several weeks has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians and ravaged refugee camps increasingly appears to be part of Israel's "vision of annexation",