By Israeli forces appeared to have withdrawn from three refugee camps in the occupied West Bank by Friday morning, following a weeklong military operation that left dozens dead and widespread destruction in its wake.
An Associated Press reporter in the Jenin refugee camp, the main focus of the operation, observed no remaining Israeli troops as dawn broke on Friday. Overnight, armored personnel carriers were seen leaving the camp via a checkpoint on one of the main roads.
The Israeli military, however, indicated in a statement that the operation might not be over: “Israeli security forces are continuing to act in order to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation.”
The extensive military action, which involved hundreds of Israeli troops, has been the deadliest in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war nearly 11 months ago. The United Nations characterized the tactics employed as “lethal war-like.”
According to local health officials, 39 Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli push in the West Bank, with 21 of those deaths occurring in Jenin. The Israeli military claims most of the casualties were militants.
The operation has had severe consequences for Palestinian civilians in Jenin. Residents have endured cuts to water and electricity, confinement to their homes, and delays in medical evacuations due to Israeli soldiers searching for militants. Military bulldozers tore up roads in search of buried explosives, causing significant infrastructure damage.
An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged the destruction but attributed it to militants planting explosives in civilian areas.
As the operation appeared to wind down, residents of Jenin emerged to assess the damage. The camp bore the scars of intense fighting, with collapsed buildings, twisted rebar protruding from concrete, and bullet-pocked walls.
In the Tulkarem camp, which Israeli forces had also withdrawn from by Friday morning, resident Ziad Abu Tahoun lamented the extensive damage: “Look at the condition of the camp, the camp is in a deplorable state. They’ve set us back 60 years.”
The Israeli military operation in the West Bank comes against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, which began with Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. That attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths, primarily civilians, and the taking of over 100 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza. The ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, also reports more than 94,000 wounded since the start of the war.
Amid the ongoing conflict, health workers in southern Gaza have resumed a polio vaccination campaign for children. The effort, coordinated by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, aims to vaccinate 640,000 Palestinian children against polio following the first reported case in 25 years.
Israel has faced mounting pressure from the United States and other allies to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on maintaining Israeli control over the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip along Gaza’s border with Egypt, claiming it’s used by Hamas for weapons smuggling – an allegation denied by both Egypt and Hamas.
Hamas has accused Israel of prolonging negotiations by introducing new demands, including control over both the Philadelphi corridor and a second corridor across Gaza. The militant group has offered to release all hostages in exchange for an end to the war, complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.
As the situation continues to evolve, the international community watches closely, hoping for a resolution to the protracted conflict that has caused immense suffering on both sides.
Source: apnews.com
