3 Palestinians injured in Israeli drone attack on Nur Shams refugee camp in northern West Bank

By Zein Khalil and Yusuf Alioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) – Three Palestinian civilians were injured Tuesday evening in an Israeli drone strike on the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem, in the northern occupied West Bank.

Israeli drones targeted the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq neighborhood in the center of Nur Shams camp, as well as the area between Al-Manshiyya and Al-Shuhada neighborhoods, injuring residents, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, citing eyewitnesses, who did not provide an exact number of casualties.

However, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a press release that its teams treated three people who were injured by shrapnel from the strike.

In a brief statement on X, the Israeli military claimed that the airstrike targeted "armed individuals" but provided no further details.

The strike came as part of a broader Israeli military offensive launched on Monday evening in Tulkarem.

Israeli forces stormed the city of Tulkarem, the governorate’s center, and besieged the Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps under aerial coverage by drones. Eyewitnesses reported the deployment of reinforcements accompanied by bulldozers and the positioning of snipers on several buildings.

As of Tuesday evening, the Israeli military offensive has resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians and injuries to three others, including two women, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the official news agency Wafa.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 825 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,500 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala