August 31, 2024
Israeli soldiers
have forcibly removed Palestinians from their homes in Jenin as a major
offensive in the occupied West Bank enters its fourth day.
Palestinians have been forced out of their homes in Jenin during an
Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city on 31 August 2024
(Reuters/Ammar Awad)
Residents told
Middle East Eye that many are trapped in their homes without access to food,
water or electricity, as Israeli forces maintain a tight siege on the city.
Dozens of
families have been forced out of their homes in raids conducted by Israeli
troops.
"We were
cut off from the world, with no communication or internet, and we didn’t know
anything about what was happening,” Abdul Rahman Abu Raya, a Jenin resident,
told Middle East Eye.
Abu Raya said
troops stormed his home and forced all family members, including 12 children,
into two rooms after the raid began on Wednesday.
The family was
denied access to basic needs during this time, he added, including milk, bread
and medicine.
“If they could
have cut off the air, they would have,” Abu Raya said.
“Since 2002, we
haven’t witnessed such a brutal incursion.”
The Israeli
offensive, which began early Wednesday, involved simultaneous air and ground
attacks on Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas in the northern West Bank.
At least 21
Palestinians have been killed, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
The UN agency
for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said that among the dead were several children
and a disabled person.
By Friday
evening, the Israeli military had withdrawn from Tulkarm and Tubas but remained
in Jenin, which has now become the main focus of the assault.
Palestinian
media reported intense fighting on Saturday between Israeli troops and
Palestinian fighters, as Israeli military bulldozers caused widespread
destruction to the city’s roads and civilian infrastructure.
'The destruction
is enormous'
Abu Raya said
his family was among several others forced to leave Jenin on Friday by Israeli
forces.
Local media
reported more forced ejections on Saturday.
Between
Wednesday and Friday, Abu Raya said they had little information about the scale
of the attack, as they were trapped in their home by Israeli forces.
On Friday night,
he and his family left on foot.
Carrying his
one-year-old child, he walked for 4km before exiting the city and witnessing
the devastation firsthand.
“The extent of
the destruction is enormous,” he said.
Among the
civilian structures damaged by the Israeli attacks was the Khalid Ibn al-Walid
Mosque in Abu Raya’s neighbourhood, he added.
As he walked
past the mosque, he saw a wounded Palestinian lying on the ground with his hand
tied, but he could not confirm whether the person was alive or dead.
Abu Raya added
that snipers are stationed in nearly every building in the neighbourhood,
shooting at anyone who moves or even at windows with moving curtains behind
them.
Meanwhile, many
residents have been arrested from their homes and subjected to field
interrogations and harsh treatment.
“We left our
homes, but thousands are still suffering there under the strict siege and
fierce incursion," he said.
“There are still
casualties in the streets that no one can reach.”
The Israeli
offensive follows months of escalating violence against Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
At least 41,319
Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since 7 October 2023,
including 628 in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the
Palestinian health ministry.
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