ISTANBUL

The municipality of Jenin reported on Saturday that its refugee camp in the northern West Bank has become "uninhabitable" following the Israeli army's destruction of approximately 600 homes, amid the ongoing Israeli offensive that has persisted for over two months.

A statement from the Jenin municipality said: "The Jenin Refugee Camp has become entirely uninhabitable due to the continued Israeli assault on the 68th day, with widespread bulldozing, burning of homes, and turning others into military barracks."

The municipality added that the Israeli forces are also enforcing a severe blockade on the Jenin governorate, which is home to around 360,000 people.

“The Israeli army has destroyed around 600 homes and completely wiped out the camp’s infrastructure," it said.

Meanwhile, the media committee in the Jenin refugee camp announced that 3,250 housing units within the camp have been rendered uninhabitable due to the ongoing assault.

The committee also reported that "the Israeli occupation forces have brought in reinforcements, including bulldozers, to the camp, continuing their efforts to widen roads, clear paths, and expand the area under their control."

Additionally, live ammunition continues to be fired around the camp, with intense aerial surveillance from drones and ongoing infantry movements.

At least 21,000 Palestinians have fled the camp, taking refuge in the city of Jenin and nearby villages in the governorate, according to the media committee’s statement.

Meanwhile, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces are continuing their assault on the city of Tulkarem and its refugee camp for the 62nd consecutive day, with military reinforcements and bulldozers being deployed to expand their control.

Palestinian authorities have raised concerns, saying that the ongoing Israeli military assault is part of a broader plan by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to annex the occupied West Bank and declare sovereignty over it, effectively ending the two-state solution.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 939 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.