JENIN: As Israeli soldiers pressed a lethal operation Thursday, hundreds of residents started to evacuate their homes in a hotspot region of the occupied West Bank.
Days after a ceasefire in the fighting with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli forces conducted the raid in the Jenin region.
“The Israeli army has ordered hundreds of camp residents to leave the camp using loudspeakers on drones and military vehicles,” Jenin governor Kamal Abu al-Rub told AFP.
As of right now, the Israeli army claimed to be “unaware of any evacuation orders for residents in Jenin.” According to the Palestinian health ministry, the operation has killed at least 12 Palestinians and injured 40 more since it started on Tuesday.
Salim Saadi, a resident of Jenin, stated, “Dozens of camp residents have started to depart.” “My house is in front of the troops. They might come in at any time.
After the ceasefire, Gazans prepare tent camps for families moving back to the north.
An AFP photographer witnessed a line of blindfolded men in white jumpsuits being taken out of the West Bank by Israeli police, who had also detained a number of Palestinians from the Jenin region.
Palestinians had already started to evacuate the Jenin region on foot on Wednesday, according to AFPTV footage, which showed a group of men, women, and children walking down a muddy road while drones buzzed overhead.
On Thursday, the Israeli military claimed to have killed two Palestinian fighters in the nighttime in Jenin, accusing them of killing three Israelis.
The two deaths were later confirmed by the Palestinian health ministry.
According to Gaza’s civil defense, two Palestinians were killed by an Israeli tank on Thursday, west of Rafah.
Camps in tents
Two days before they were supposed to return to their homes in compliance with the terms of a truce agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians in northern Gaza set up tent encampments for displaced families on Thursday.
A group of men started setting up rows of white tents on open ground encircled by blown-out structures to accommodate families preparing to head back north on Saturday, when the Palestinian organization Hamas is scheduled to release a second group of captives in exchange for scores of Palestinians detained by Israel.
After a 15-month Israeli military operation that has destroyed the enclave and killed over 47,000 Gazans, many of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are anticipated to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip will do so to homes in ruins.
Is this the tent of our dreams? Ten people must fit in this. My kids are coming from the south, and this tent is for them. Is this really enough room? As he set up a tent for his kids to return from their temporary refuge in the southern Mawasi coastal region, Wael Jundiya was asked.
“Where will the people from the south go when they overwhelm Gaza (City) on Saturday? There is space for 100–200 individuals in this camp. One and a half million people will be traveling from the south,” Jundiya told Reuters.
The return of the displaced families will start when Saturday’s exchange is over and Israeli soldiers have withdrawn from the coastal road to the north, according to a statement released by Hamas on Thursday. On Saturday, at least four inmates are anticipated to be released to Israel.
According to Hamas, individuals would be permitted to walk back down the coastal road, which would entail a few miles of walking to the official northern region. From there, they may attempt to find rides in cars that would be examined at checkpoints. Hamas urged those returning to refrain from carrying weapons.
According to Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas leader, the organization was in communication with a number of Arab and foreign entities that would help with the relief and return effort, including supplying tents. He promised that Hamas will get to work right away to fix any partially damaged homes.
“We will use every resource at our disposal to support our citizens. He told Reuters that municipalities have prepared to welcome the families who are coming back to the north, including erecting tents for them.
Many have returned to live inside their destroyed homes in Jabalia, the largest of the eight historic refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and the target of Israel’s campaign for the last three months. They are trying to keep their kids warm by starting little fires.