Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank have entered their third day, causing widespread destruction. Early Friday morning, three individuals were killed when Israeli forces attacked a vehicle in the village of Zababdeh, located south of Jenin. According to the Israeli military, the attack targeted a “terrorist group” following a “meeting with security forces.” Footage from the aftermath shows a vehicle engulfed in flames.
The Jenin Battalion of the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, previously reported that their fighters were engaged in “intense clashes” with Israeli soldiers in Jenin. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated that ambulances were prevented from reaching the scene of the attack.
Israeli forces withdrew from Tulkarem city and its two refugee camps late Thursday after a 48-hour operation, which resulted in four deaths and significant damage to civilian property and infrastructure. Al Jazeera reporter Nida Ibrahim, reporting from the Nur Shams refugee camp, noted that Palestinian civil defense teams were trying to repair some of the damage caused by the Israeli raid, but destroyed roads complicated their efforts. “If the Palestinians fix one water line here, one power line there, Israeli forces could return very soon to destroy them again,” Ibrahim said, adding that “Palestinians claim that Israel seeks to ensure their lives, especially in the refugee camps, become more complicated and force them to leave their homes.”
Israeli forces also pulled back from the Far’a refugee camp south of Tubas, where four people were killed and additional civilian infrastructure was destroyed. Although Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas—all cities in the northern West Bank—have experienced the most violence, Israeli forces have targeted other areas, including Nablus and the nearby Balata refugee camp, the town of Anabta east of Tulkarem, the village of Husan west of Bethlehem, and regions within Hebron Governorate.
The Israeli military has conducted several arrests near Hebron and Ramallah. Palestinian health authorities report that at least 18 individuals have been killed since the invasion commenced on Wednesday. The Israeli military claims to have killed 12 Palestinian fighters.
Israeli military officials state that they aim to target members of armed groups, and there have been exchanges of fire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters in multiple locations. However, residents allege that Israeli troops are intentionally attacking refugee camps and destroying roads and infrastructure. Some fear that the long-term strategy is to displace Palestinians from their homes. “The Israelis are creating an environment that pushes people out by almost completely destroying the infrastructure and cutting off electricity and water; they want to leave people with nothing, so ultimately they have no choice but to leave,” said activist Hussein al-Sheikh Ali in Tulkarem.
However, Nida Ibrahim from Al Jazeera also noted, “People talk a lot about resistance. They say they know that Israeli forces want to make their lives more difficult… and that is precisely why they are here to stay.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on Wednesday for a “temporary evacuation” of Palestinians from the West Bank to combat armed groups there—an assertion that activists warn could pave the way for the territory to experience a similar fate to Gaza, involving massive destruction and displacement.