Jenin after the battle

Few people venture out of their homes

By James Reynolds BBC Jerusalem correspondent, in Jenin

Israel has declared the West Bank town of Jenin a closed military zone - in other words, people are not allowed in or out.

We headed into Jenin through fields and back roads, we avoided the main checkpoints, and we drove quickly past a series of Israeli armoured personnel carriers positioned by the side of the road.

We reached the outskirts of the town's refugee camp: there was rubble on the road, pylons were twisted, and there were holes in buildings.

I saw only one Palestinian on the street - an elderly woman in a wheelchair, who had been left in the middle of the road.

Israel in control

The whole area appears to be under complete Israeli control.

Israel has declared Jenin a closed military zone

Soldiers stopped us from going into the camp.

They ordered us to stop recording, and forced us to leave.

So, we headed into Jenin itself, next to the refugee camp.

We spoke to people who had had to leave their homes in the camp and are now sheltering with people in the town.

We went to one house and saw an elderly man lying on the floor.

He had what appeared to be a bullet wound in his side.

He was unable to get to hospital - ambulances are still not allowed on to the streets.

Human cost

We saw one family outside a small cemetery, screaming and crying.

More than 100 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers died in the fighting

They had just buried their relative, a farmer.

They told us he had been shot dead in the morning by Israeli soldiers.

For now, most people in Jenin are staying indoors - the safest place to be at the moment.

Israeli bulldozers and tanks are on the roads.

But as we left, I saw a column of eight armoured personnel carriers enter Jenin.

One was draped with an Israeli flag.

From what I could see on the ground, the Israeli offensive in Jenin shows little sign of ending soon.