Around 3,000 Palestinians residing in the Jenin refugee camp have fled since the Israeli army launched a major operation in the area in the occupied West Bank Monday, a Palestinian official said.

‘There are about 3,000 people who have left the camp so far,’ Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Roub told AFP, adding that arrangements were being made to house them in schools and other shelters in the city of Jenin.

He said about 18,000 Palestinians reside in the camp.

Juliette Touma, spokeswoman for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, confirmed to AFP that residents of the camp were leaving.

In the early hours of Monday, Israeli forces launched a large-scale operation in the occupied West Bank that involved air strikes and hundreds of troops. The Palestinian health ministry said nine people were killed in the operation and at least 80 others were injured.