An Israeli soldier takes aim at the entrance of the occupied West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem, during an ongoing military assault. AFP
Israel launched a broad attack on the northern West Bank on 20 January — two days after the Gaza ceasefire took hold — and then expanded it to other nearby areas.
The deadly Israeli assault has caused massive destruction to urban areas and displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.
"So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents," Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Sunday.
"I have instructed (troops) to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism," he added.
Earlier in the day, Israel's army announced the expansion of attacks in the occupied West Bank, including the deployment of a tank division in the city of Jenin. This is the first time tanks have operated in the Palestinian territory since the end of the second intifada, or uprising, in 2002.
The military, Shin Bet (security agency), and border police forces continue their operation in the northern West Bank and are expanding offensive activities in the area, the occupation army said in a statement.
It added that "a tank division will operate in Jenin as part of the offensive effort."
The UN said the current operation is the longest since the early 2000s when Israel regularly raided the West Bank to avert the Palestinian intifada.
According to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, the Israeli current assault on the West Bank has forced more than 40,100 Palestinians to flee their homes.
Humanitarian officials say they have not seen such displacement in the West Bank since the 1967 war.
Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank as the Israeli army and terrorist settlers have killed at least 923 Palestinians and injured nearly 7,000 since the start of the genocidal war against Gaza on 7 October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Jewish settlers have also carried out repeated rampages throughout Palestinian areas in the West Bank.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared that Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, demanding the evacuation of all colonial settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Short link: