RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army on Friday demolished several more Palestinian homes in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank amid the ongoing military offensive.

The Israeli army launched a major offensive in Jenin on Jan. 21, which later on Monday expanded to Tulkarem, killing 19 Palestinians in Jenin and three in Tulkarem, in addition to 10 more killed in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Tammun on Thursday.

The Palestinian state news agency Wafa reported that sounds of explosions were heard across the camp, particularly in the Nadi neighborhood, with plumes of smoke rising into the sky as a result of the army's blowing up of homes and torching plastic covers.

It added that the Israeli army left large-scale damage to civilians’ properties in the camp.

Earlier, the Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams evacuated 150 Palestinians from the Tulkarem refugee camp after receiving evacuation orders from Israeli forces.

The Israeli daily Haaretz warned on Tuesday against Israeli forces transferring the violations committed in Gaza to the West Bank.

The escalation in the West Bank came after a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, following 15 months of Israel’s genocidal war that killed over 47,400 and reduced the enclave to rubble.

Reports say Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the escalation over threats from right-wing parties to bring down his government over the Gaza ceasefire, which they oppose.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, at least 890 Palestinians have been killed across the occupied territory in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers.