Israeli forces demolish more homes as West Bank offensive enters 14th day

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli army raided Silat al-Harithiya town, west of Jenin city, and cordoned off a number of homes, ordering those inside to surrender.

The Al-Quds Brigades of the Islamic Jihad group said in a statement that its fighters detonated explosives in a number of Israeli military vehicles in the town. The Israeli army, however, didn't report any casualties.

On Sunday, the Israeli army blew up entire residential areas in the Jenin refugee camp.

Kamal Abu al-Rub, the governor of Jenin, said Israeli authorities are working to destroy the camp and make it uninhabitable by demolishing homes and infrastructure.

Abu al-Rub noted that the Israeli bombings on the camp are “the first of their kind since 2002, following a battle that destroyed parts of the camp at the time.”

On Jan. 21, the Israeli army launched an assault on Jenin city and its refugee camp, killing at least 25 Palestinians. The offensive was later expanded to the city of Tulkarm, where at least three Palestinians were killed.

The escalation in the West Bank came after a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took hold in Gaza on Jan. 19, following 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war that killed over 47,500 Palestinians and reduced the enclave to rubble.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, more than 900 Palestinians have been killed across the West Bank in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.