UPDATE 2 - Israeli forces withdraw from Jenin, Tulkarm after 10-day offensive, leaving widespread death, destruction

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM CIVIL DEFENSE

By Mehmet Nuri Ucar and Qais Abu Samra

JENIN, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli military early Friday withdrew from the northern West Bank cities of Jenin, Tulkarm and their refugee camps, following 10 days of incursion and assaults, killing 36 Palestinians and injuring dozens more.

Witnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli forces pulled out of Tulkarm and its refugee camp after having withdrawn from Jenin and its camp just hours earlier.

They said that there is significant destruction to infrastructure and homes in the city.

The Israeli army had re-entered Tulkarm early Monday, after initially pulling out on the evening of Aug. 29, following a 48-hour-long military offensive.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli forces also withdrew from the city of Jenin and its refugee camp after 10 days of strikes that killed and wounded dozens of people, leaving behind significant ruin, according to the official Palestinian agency Wafa.

Jenin residents voiced fears that the Israeli military would return to the city and the camp to launch further attacks after withdrawing and positioning at the surrounding military checkpoints, as has occurred repeatedly in the past.

Israeli forces destroyed the main roads in Jenin, the refugee camp, and the infrastructure in the area east of the city. Water, electricity, and communications lines were severed as a consequence of the excavation and wreckage executed by Israeli construction machinery in the vicinity.

The Israeli army on Aug. 28 initiated its most extensive military campaign in the northern West Bank in two decades.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, during their offensive in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and Al-Fara camp, Israeli forces killed 36 Palestinians and injured over 150 others.

Separately, the Palestinian Civil Defense told Anadolu that according to preliminary damage assessments, more than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) of roads and neighborhoods in the city of Jenin and its refugee camp were completely destroyed by Israeli forces during their operations in the city.

“Civil Defense teams, in collaboration with partner organizations, have begun rehabilitation efforts,” the statement said, without elaborating.

Tensions have intensified throughout the occupied West Bank as Israel persists in its offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 40,900 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, since last Oct. 7.

At least 691 individuals have been killed and more than 5,700 injured by Israeli gunfire in the West Bank since that time, according to the Health Ministry.

* Writing by Yasin Gungor in Istanbul and Ikram Kouachi in Ankara