Israel has launched a bloody military assault on the West Bank, its largest since the 2000-2005 Second Intifada when Palestinians rose up against Israel’s decades-long occupation.
According to reports, the latest incursion has so far resulted in eight deaths, which include two children and a ninth person being shot by the IDF near the city of Ramallah.
Nidal Obeidi, the mayor of Jenin, said the attack was “a real massacre and an attempt to wipe out all aspects of life inside the city and the camp”.
“Those being targeted now are not just the resistance fighters but civilians are being killed and wounded as well,” he told Al Jazeera.
The municipality of Jenin announced water and electricity services had been cut off from the refugee camp because of ongoing combat. The Palestine Red Crescent said at least 3,000 people were evacuated from Jenin.
AlJazeera
Israeli bulldozers, which have been a brutal and criminal aspect of the ongoing massacre were once again seen destroying Palestinian infrastructure in Jenin. Those same armored bulldozers also cut water and electricity to the city of Jenin while residents reported Israeli soldiers breaking down walls to pass from house to house.
In addition to the destruction taking place by Israeli forces on the ground, the IDF launched an air assault on the Palestinian people using drones to launch missiles on a camp of roughly 20,000 people while Israel also targeted homes and roads making it nearly impossible for medical personnel to reach the wounded.
“What is going on in the refugee camp is real war,” said Khaled Alahmad, a Palestinian ambulance driver. “There were strikes from the sky targeting the camp, every time we drive in, around five to seven ambulances and we come back full of injured.”
Meanwhile, the United States did nothing to condemn the violence perpetrated by its mid-east ally saying that “We support Israel’s security and right to defend its people against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups,” a State Department spokesperson said adding, “It is imperative to take all possible precautions to prevent the loss of civilian lives.”
Meanwhile, other nations took a more non-partisan approach to the bloodshed with Turkey’s foreign ministry voicing their concerns over the attack saying that the situation could trigger “trigger a new spiral of violence”.
Qatar made a call to the international community urging the protection of the Palestinian people from Israel’s “flagrant” violations.
Jordan also condemned the violence calling Israel’s actions a “violation of international humanitarian law” while Egypt warned of serious repercussions and pleaded for international intervention.