On Thursday, Israeli occupation forces continued their military offensive in Tulkarem city and Tulkarem refugees camp, in the northwestern West Bank, for the 53rd consecutive day, while the onslaught in the Nur Shams refugee camp entered its 40th day. The ongoing escalation involves intensified raids, demolitions, and extensive destruction of infrastructure.
Israeli military bulldozers continued the demolition of Palestinian homes in the al-Manshiyya neighborhood of Nur Shams refugee camp.
According to the refugee camp’s Popular Services Committee, 66 homes have been demolished since the beginning of the Israeli military offensive.
Local sources reported that, just a day earlier, six residential buildings containing multiple apartments were reduced to rubble.
These properties were owned by families such as Shihab, Al-Alaajmeh, Al-Sa’ayda, Abu Shu’la, Abu Abed, Al-Sayes, Al-Ghannam, Masharqa, Sheikh Youssef, and Al-Dabbour.
Witnesses highlighted the daily targeting of homes and infrastructure in Nur Shams, resulting in widespread destruction and the forced displacement of its residents.
These measures appear to aim at erasing the refugee camp’s distinct identity and reshaping its geography.
Israeli forces also conducted searches and invasions in various neighborhoods of Nur Shams, including Jabali, Al-Nasr, and Al-Saleheen.
A residence belonging to the Abu Dayya family in Jabal Al-Nasr was converted into a makeshift military center, demonstrating escalating attempts to tighten control over the area.
Meanwhile, in Tulkarem refugee camp, military forces launched flares over the Abu Al-Foul neighborhood overnight, while armored vehicles moved through the streets, leaving behind destruction.
Infantry units stationed themselves at the camp’s northern entrance, now barricaded with mounds of earth and rubble. Soldiers stormed homes, shops, and institutions, vandalizing and looting properties.
In the al-Hadaida and Al-Matar neighborhoods, the mass displacement of Palestinians continued, with residents fleeing to nearby areas such as Qaqoun, Abu Al-Foul, and Marba’at Hannoun.
The occupation soldiers also stormed and ransacked many homes in the Al-Raba’iya neighborhood, conducting extensive searches and questioning residents.
These actions have led to Tulkarem camp becoming largely deserted, with over 12,000 residents displaced.
Simultaneously, additional military reinforcements were deployed to the city and its camps, alongside infantry units patrolling main roads and restricting vehicle movement. Sound bombs were also used in a bid to intimidate residents further.
Israeli forces have also illegally occupied several homes along Nablus Street, bordering Tulkarem refugee camp, converting them into military positions. Armored military vehicles and bulldozers remain stationed in the vicinity, restricting movement for local residents.
Early Thursday, Israeli soldiers abducted Bashir Mahmoud Awfi after raiding a residential complex in the Ektaba suburb, east of Tulkarem.
The ongoing Israeli violations have resulted in the killing of 13 individuals, including a child and two women—one of whom was eight months pregnant.
Additionally, dozens have been injured or abducted, and more than 24,000 people have been displaced from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.
The extensive offensive has also caused the destruction of infrastructure, including water, electricity, sewage, and communication networks.
Residential and commercial properties, along with vehicles, have suffered varying degrees of destruction, including arson and vandalism.
The entrances and alleyways of both camps remain blocked by earth mounds, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation.
At dawn on Wednesday, Israeli soldiers killed a young Palestinian man and injured several others during an invasion of the Al-Ein, Balata, and Askar refugee camps in Nablus.
According to security sources, Israeli undercover special forces infiltrated the Al-Ein Refugee Camp west of the city and opened fire on a car inside the camp, killing Odai Adel Al-Qatouni, who was near the targeted vehicle.
On Tuesday, Palestinian medical sources have confirmed that a former political prisoner, Kathem Issa Zawahra, 31, who was shot and injured prior to being abducted by Israeli soldiers on February 2, 2024, has succumbed to the severe wounds.
At dawn Tuesday, a young man was killed, and three others were injured, by Israeli occupation forces in Qalqilia, in the northwestern part of the West Bank.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced, at dawn on Tuesday, the killing of Khaled Saleh Qaraan (25 years old), and the injury of three others, by Israeli occupation forces’ bullets, during their raid into the city of Qalqilia.
It is worth mentioning that, this year alone, the Israeli army has killed 108 Palestinians (49 in Jenin, 19 in Tubas, 14 in Tulkarem, 13 in Nablus, 5 in Hebron, 3 in Bethlehem, 2 in Qalqilia, 1 in Salfit, and 1 in Jerusalem, in addition to injuring and abducting hundreds across the occupied West Bank.
In the Gaza Strip, dozens of civilians were killed and injured as Israeli forces continued bombing various areas across the destroyer, starved and besieged coastal enclave.
On Tuesday, the Israeli army resumed the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; Israeli missiles and shells claimed the lives of at least 429 Palestinians and injured more than 562, most of whom were children and women, in just one day.
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the Israeli army has killed at least 48,577 Palestinians and injured over 112,041—mostly women and children—since October 7, 2023. The Government Media Office in Gaza stated that the death toll has surpassed 61,700, including thousands still trapped under rubble.
In a press briefing, the head of Gaza’s Government Information Office revealed that 76% of the deceased have been recovered and transported to medical centers. He added that more than 14,222 Palestinians remain trapped under rubble in areas inaccessible to rescuers across the coastal region.
