JENIN, Palestine

The Israeli army has prevented thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, residents said on Wednesday.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered at the main entrance of the camp after reported calls by the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority for residents to return to the camp, according to an Anadolu reporter.

“We gathered here at the entrance of the camp to return and see what has happened to our camp, but the Israeli army prevented us and chased us away,” Basma Masharqa, a Palestinian resident, told Anadolu.

"We know that our house had been demolished. I want to return, despite my heartbreak, just to see even the ruins,” she said.

"We say to the occupation: Enough! Get out of our camp. There is nothing left that you haven’t done.”

The Israeli army has been conducting military operations in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, killing at least 56 Palestinians and displacing thousands.

The assault came amid rising tensions in the occupied West Bank, where at least 917 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.