"It's like a prison," said the 56-year-old father of five, a resident of the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, an area targeted in a series of major Israeli assault since August 28.

Israel's forces regularly make incursions into the occupied West Bank cities, but the current raids as well as comments by Israeli official mark an escalation, residents say.

The ongoing raids in the northern West Bank have killed 40 Palestinians since last week, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israeli forces have also arrested dozens of Palestinians.

The presence of Israeli troops has brought life in Jenin to a standstill, said Naghnaghia.

"They force you to stay inside the house instead of going out and living a normal life".

Venturing out has become so perilous that Naghnaghia was speaking to an AFP correspondent by phone even though they were both in the Jenin camp, just 600 metres (yards) apart.

In the camp's narrow alleys, armoured vehicles and bulldozers have left behind a trail of destruction.

Most residents "already left", seeking safety elsewhere, said Naghnaghia.

'Exhausted'

Years of repeated raids have made Jenin camp residents "experts" at waiting them out, said Naghnaghia who had stocked up food for days.

But now he fears it may not last long enough.

"We plan for two-three days, not one or two weeks," he said.

On Monday Israeli troops searched the family home where about 20 of Naghnaghia's relatives including children were staying.

Before they left, he recounted, one of the soldiers fired a shot inside the house, at the ceiling.

The 56-year-old said he did not know why the troops were there.

In Jenin city, 68-year-old Fadwa Dababneh has her groceries delivered to her by an ambulance.

Other vehicles have largely disappeared off the streets as gunfire rings out, and many roads have been overturned by bulldozers.

For bottled water, "we arranged with the Red Crescent car, they gave us some," she said.

Medics treat casualties, but now also deliver food and other basics, or help residents make necessary trips across the city.

One woman, who asked not to be named, told AFP she had to take an ambulance to make it to a routine checkup at a hospital.

"Just look at it -- so much destruction, so much devastation. People are really exhausted," she said.

 Shortages

The military operations have forced health professionals to make quick changes to the way they operate. Some, unable to travel home as freely as they used to, are now working 24-hour shifts.

"To leave the hospital now, we need a permit, or we have to coordinate with an ambulance, as the area we're in is dangerous", said Moayad Khalifeh, a 29-year-old doctor near the Jenin camp.

He works at Al-Amal, a maternity hospital which has begun taking in wounded from the raids.

"Most of the activity, clashes and blockades happen right at our door", said Khalifeh.

The hospital's director, Mohammad al-Ardeh, was unable to reach the facility for a week, instead managing operations by phone, and some staff members have been unable to come to work, he told AFP.

Making matters worse, water supply "has been cut off maybe six or seven times" since last week, and there have been frequent power cuts.

Since the Gaza war began on October 7, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 661 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.