Israeli troops continued operations in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem on Thursday, while withdrawing from Tubas, in the largest incursion into the occupied West Bank since the second Palestinian Intifada (2000-2005).
According to medical sources quoted by the Palestinian news agency Wafa, the Israeli attacks have already left 17 dead: eight in Jenin, five in Tulkarem and four in Tubas. In addition, more than 30 people have been injured since yesterday morning.
In Tulkarem, Israeli forces continue to surround the Nur Shams refugee camp, the main target of the operation in the area, where they have burned homes, destroyed infrastructure and interrogated residents, according to Wafa. The head of the Palestinian Prisoners Society in Tulkarem told Wafa that dozens of people have been arrested since the start of the Israeli attack on the city and refugee camps.
Meanwhile, for the second day in a row, troops prevented emergency teams from accessing Nur Shams, who were only able to evacuate the body of a 62-year-old man who died last night. With this man, the death toll rises to 18.
For its part, the Israeli army said in a statement that it had killed five “terrorists who had hidden inside a mosque” in Nur Shams. According to the army, one of them was the leader of the “terrorist network” of the refugee camp, involved in “numerous terrorist attacks”. The man was identified as Mohamed Jaber, alias “Abu Shujaa”, commander of the Tulkarem brigade of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which confirmed and deplored his death in a statement.
In the city of Jenin and its refugee camp, there is no electricity or water after Israeli forces destroyed pipelines and shot at the main power generator. They also cut telephone and internet lines.
From New York, UN Secretary-General António Guterres blamed Israel for the “explosive situation” in the West Bank. “These dangerous developments are fueling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further weakening the Palestinian Authority,” he warned in a statement signed by spokesman Stephane Dujarric. The Secretary-General called for an immediate cessation of Israeli operations and demanded that Israel take steps to protect civilians and provide medical care to the wounded.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent denounced the fact that Israeli troops were blocking ambulances from accessing the attacked and surrounded cities, making it impossible to evacuate the wounded. The organization reported on Wednesday that it had managed to transfer eight bodies to the hospital in Jenin and four to Tubas, in addition to more than a dozen wounded. According to the EFE agency, the Palestinian Red Crescent helped evacuate 34 civilians in Tulkarm and 86 in Jenin, who were trying to flee the fighting.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, violence has also increased in the West Bank, where more than 660 Palestinians have died in the last eleven months. According to EFE, August is the deadliest month of 2024, with 72 Palestinians killed so far.
