RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army on Tuesday expanded its military operation in the northern occupied West Bank, targeting the city of Tulkarem after Jenin, which it has attacked since Jan. 21.

Witnesses told Anadolu that Israeli forces began attacking Tulkarem and its two refugee camps, Nur Shams and Tulkarem, on Monday and turning them into military barracks, forcing dozens of families to leave their homes.

💢 Israeli army expands its military operation in occupied West Bank, targeting Tulkarem city after Jenin, forcing dozens of families to leave their homes

👉 2 Palestinians killed and 3 others injured in Israeli airstrike in Tulkarem a day earlier https://t.co/iGYtKs4dNW pic.twitter.com/wWrWYf7uBo

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) January 28, 2025

Faisal Salama, the head of the services committee in the Tulkarem camp, told Anadolu that the Israeli army used Palestinians as human shields and are destroying infrastructure.

Two Palestinians were killed and three others injured in an Israeli drone strike in Tulkarem a day earlier, according to the Health Ministry.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN also confirmed that Israel had expanded its military operation in the northern West Bank to include areas in Tulkarem.

In Jenin, Israel has killed at least 16 Palestinians and injured 50 others in a week.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank due to Israel’s war on Gaza, where over 47,300 people have been killed and 111,500 others injured since Oct. 7, 2023. A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

Over the same period, at least 880 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,700 injured by Israeli forces in West Bank, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

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

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar