On Wednesday, Israeli occupation forces continue their invasions and violations on the city of Tulkarem and its refugee camp, in the northwestern part of the occupied West Bank, for the 171st consecutive day, and on the Nur Shams refugee camp for the 158th day, in the ongoing escalation marked by widespread home demolitions, destructions of structures and bulldozing of lands.
Israeli bulldozers resumed high-paced demolition operations Wednesday morning in the Tulkarem refugee camp, targeting additional residential buildings. The destruction has left behind rubble and clouds of dust and smoke engulfing the area.
This intensified offensive is part of a broader Israeli plan to demolish 104 structures housing around 400 homes, continuing a wave of demolitions that have already devastated entire quarters in the refugee camp, including the al-Morabba’a, Abu al-Foul, ash-Shuhada, and al-Hamam neighborhoods, leaving thousands of families displaced.
Simultaneously, Nur Shams refugee camp is facing a military escalation amid a tightened siege. Israeli forces have set homes ablaze, with fires concentrated in Jabal al-Nasr.
Over recent weeks, the Nur Shams refugee camp has witnessed the demolition of dozens of residential structures, as part of a declared plan to raze 106 buildings between Tulkarem and Nur Shams, including 48 in Nur Shams alone. The destruction has severed the refugee camp’s quarters, creating wide roads and deep physical divisions.
The ongoing offensive has resulted in the forced displacement of more than 5,000 families, over 25,000 residents, from both refugee camps.
More than 600 buildings have been destroyed, and 2,573 homes have sustained partial damage.
Israeli occupation forces continue to seal the entrances to both camps with barricades, rendering them desolate and preventing residents from accessing their homes or inspecting their belongings. Anyone approaching the area faces direct gunfire.
In parallel, Israeli forces deployed further military reinforcements into Tulkarem, which remains under constant surveillance and mobility disruptions.
Armored vehicles have been seen obstructing movement in residential neighborhoods, the central market, and key roads, including the one leading to the government-run Thabet Thabet Hospital, Jamal Abdul-Nasser Square, and Nablus Street, while sounding vehicle sirens provocatively and driving against traffic flow, endangering civilians.
Nablus Street has effectively been turned into a military zone, with Israeli forces occupying several residential buildings and parts of the city’s northern district, especially the areas facing the Tulkarem refugee camp.
Some structures have remained occupied by the army for over four months, accompanied by the positioning of heavy machinery and bulldozers around them.
The road connecting Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps has also suffered extensive damage due to sand barriers placed by the Israeli military months ago.
The heavy troop presence, coupled with sudden flying military roadblocks, continues to obstruct traffic and compound the hardship faced by residents.
So far, the Israeli military offensive has resulting in the killing of 14 Palestinians, including a child and two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant, while leaving dozens wounded and abducted. The destruction has severely affected infrastructure, homes, shops, and civilian vehicles.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces and colonizers have killed 178 Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, including 31 children and 6 women, and four killed by the illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers.
61 Palestinians were killed in Jenin, 32 in Nablus, 26 in Tubas, 17 in Tulkarem, 12 in Hebron, 11 in Ramallah, 6 in Bethlehem, 5 in Jerusalem, 4 in Qalqilia, 3 in Salfit, and 1 in Jericho.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed 1,013 Palestinians, including 204 children, 22 women, 17 elderly, and 1 journalist, in the occupied West Bank.
Among the slain Palestinians are 27 who were killed by illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers, 410 who were killed during Israeli invasions of Palestinian communities, and 290 who were extra-judicially executed. Israel still refuses to transfer the bodies of 245 slain Palestinians to their families for burial.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 58,573 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including more than 17,131 children, 10,190 women, 4,147 elders, and 257 journalists. The number of wounded has reached 139,607, mostly children and women. Additionally, over 9,000 Palestinians remain missing, believed to be trapped under rubble across various areas of the devastated Gaza Strip.
