Palestinians flee eastern Jenin in West Bank amid ongoing Israeli operations

By Qais Abu Samra

JENIN, Palestine (AA) - Palestinian families evacuated on Friday evening the eastern neighborhood of Jenin in the northern West Bank due to ongoing Israeli military operations.

These operations, which have been ongoing for three days, have caused significant distress and displacement among the residents.

Several evacuees from the eastern neighborhood, where military activities are concentrated, shared their experiences with Anadolu, saying they are leaving their homes due Israeli operations and unavailability of food and water supplies.

Jaber Abu Raih, a Palestinian resident walking with his wife and children, said: “The Israeli army stormed into our house, bringing their equipment, food, and everything they needed, turning our home into a military post.”

He added: “The army told us to ‘find alternative arrangements; this is going to be a long ordeal.’”

Describing the conditions in the eastern neighborhood, Abu Raih said: “The destruction is vast, the army is waging a real war. The residents are left without food, medicine, or water.”

He mentioned that he fled along with his family on foot and walked for about an hour towards an unknown destination.

Abu Raih is among several families, including women, children, and the elderly, who have fled from eastern Jenin to escape the Israeli military operations.

- 'Israeli forces hindering ambulance movements'

Earlier in the day, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that their teams are facing “significant difficulties in responding to the calls for help from citizens trapped in Jenin city and its camp for the third consecutive day, due to the Israeli forces hindering ambulance movements.”

The statement also mentioned that their teams, in addition to providing first aid to the injured and sick and transporting the deceased, were attempting to meet the needs of citizens who required medicines, baby formula, diapers, or food supplies that had run out due to the severe blockade imposed by the Israeli forces on the area.

The Israeli military launched a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank cities of Tulkarm, Jenin, and Tubas early Wednesday, described as the "largest" since 2002.

By Thursday evening, the military had withdrawn from Tulkarm and Al Fara camp in Tubas, leaving behind substantial destruction.

On Friday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the death toll in the northern West Bank since early Wednesday has risen to 20.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 673 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured, and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio

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