Israeli army launches largest West Bank offensive in 20 years, orders evacuations as death toll rises

By Necva Tastan Sevinc

ISTANBUL (AA) –The Israeli army early Wednesday conducted a major military operation in the occupied northern West Bank, making the largest offensive in two decades.

The operation, which involves two army brigades, helicopters, drones, and bulldozers, particularly targets the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas.

At least 11 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the operation, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry’s latest figures.

The operation's scale and intensity are reminiscent of the 2002 Jenin offensive, underscoring the severity of the current situation.

Since Oct. 7, Israeli forces have stepped up their raids in the West Bank to a nearly daily basis, targeting civilian infrastructure, refugee camps, and residential homes.

Palestinians have also been the target of violent assaults by illegal Israeli settlers.

Israeli forces already have reportedly raided the Jenin refugee camp, cordoned off two hospitals, and are planning to storm the Jenin Governmental Hospital, according to Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub.

Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the military operation involves the “temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents” from certain areas in the northern West Bank.

The Israeli army also ordered Palestinian residents of the Nour Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank to evacuate within four hours.

Earlier, Suleiman al-Zuheiri, a Palestinian activist told Anadolu that the Israeli army notified the Palestinian Civil Liaison to alert residents to leave the Nour Shams refugee camp within four hours.

He said that the military set up military checkpoints at the camp's entrances, and deployed bulldozers, supported by drones, to destroy infrastructure around the Tulkarm and Nour Shams camps.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Israeli army and settlers have displaced a total of 3,100 Palestinians, including 1,375 children, and demolished 1,380 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, making this more than double the number displaced in the 10 months before Oct. 7.​​​​​​​

The death toll is expected to rise as clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, continue.

The death toll in the West Bank since Oct. 7 has reached at least 662, with nearly 5,400 others injured.

The operation came amid heightened tensions across the occupied territories, with a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip that has claimed the lives of nearly 40,500 people, mostly women and children.

The international community has expressed growing concern over the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, particularly after the International Court of Justice's landmark advisory on July 19, declaring Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.