At least 58 Palestinians were killed and 131 injured in indiscriminate bombing by Israeli Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip in last 24 hours, pushing up the overall death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since last Oct. 7, to 40,534, and 93,778 injured, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Wednesday.
In addition, at least 11 Palestinians have been reported killed in the occupied West Bank by the Israeli Defence Forces in its biggest raid in close to two decades, involving hundreds of soldiers and air attacks in the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that an Israeli sniper has shot and killed a 62-year-old disabled Palestinian man named Ayed Abu al-Hayja during an Israeli raid on Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank.
Quoting local sources, Wafa reported that al-Hayja was killed in his home in the Nur Shams refugee camp during the Israeli incursion and was discovered by family members who went to check on him and found al-Hayja covered in blood.
Ambulance crews have been unable to reach the home as Israeli forces impose closures on the camp as they carry out operations.
In a brief statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry said six people in the city of Jenin and five others in Tubas were killed in separate Israeli army incursions.
The new deaths bring toll in the West Bank since Oct. 7 to at least 662 Palestinians and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire, according to the Health Ministry.
The Israeli army has confirmed it was carrying out military raids in several areas in northern West Bank, including in Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem.
In separate statements, Palestinian groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, said their fighters were engaged in clashes with Israeli forces in Jenin and Tulkarem.
Meanwhile, Israel’s foreign minister has called for the displacement of Palestinians from areas of the northern occupied West Bank, comparing the situation to the Gaza war.
The Israeli army ordered Palestinian residents of the Nour Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank within four hours, according to a Palestinian activist on Wednesday.
“The army notified the Palestinian Civil Liaison, a contact point with Israel, to alert residents to leave within four hours if they wish to,” Suleiman al-Zuheiri told Anadolu Agency.
According to the activist, the Israeli army erected several military checkpoints at the entry points to the refugee camp, allowing residents to leave the area from a specific exit.
“Israeli military bulldozers are destroying the infrastructure in and around the Tulkarm and Nour Shams camps, backed by drones,” he said.
Ahmed al-Deek, an assistant to the Palestinian foreign minister, told Anadolu that “Israel is replicating its Gaza eviction tactics in the West Bank, creating an environment that forces residents to leave.”
“The occupation (Israeli forces) has informed the residents of the Nur Shams camp to vacate their homes, effectively implementing what Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has mentioned,” he added.
However, the Israeli army claimed in a statement that, “Contrary to reports, no evacuation orders have been issued to the residents of the area. There are other water sources available to the residents in the Nur Shams area.”
“The army allows residents who wish to move away from the combat zone to leave the area safely,” it added.
Under the condition of anonymity, Israeli military sources told Anadolu that “for those who wish to leave the Nur Shams area, there are designated passages that remain open and are secured by the forces.”
Later in the day, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the Israeli army has been preventing medical teams from entering the camp since Tuesday evening.
Ahmad Zahran, the society’s deputy director in Tulkarem, told Anadolu, “We have received reports of medical cases, including kidney dialysis patients and women in labor, in the camp. However, as of 14:31 GMT, the teams have not been able to transport any of them.”
“We have contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross to facilitate the work of the medical staff, but the situation remains unchanged,” he added.
Zahran noted that “the army is surrounding hospitals in Tulkarem, searching ambulances, and checking the IDs of patients and the injured, causing significant delays and hindering the work of medical teams.”
In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the Israeli army and settlers have displaced a total of 3,100 Palestinians, including 1,375 children, and demolished 1,380 Palestinian structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, making this more than double the number displaced in the 10 months before Oct. 7.
Meanwhile in Gaza. the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says it is suspending humanitarian operations in Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire on a “clearly marked” UN aid convoy reported Al Jazeera.
The WFP said in a statement that the aid vehicles had received “multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach” a checkpoint before Israeli forces opened fire, striking a vehicle 10 times.
Israel has opened fire on humanitarian workers throughout the course of its war in Gaza.
The UN has said that Israeli forces in Gaza attacked a marked UN aid vehicle on Tuesday evening during a humanitarian operation that had been coordinated with the Israeli military beforehand.
“A clearly marked UN humanitarian vehicle, part of a convoy that had been fully coordinated with the [Israeli military], was struck 10 times by [Israeli military] gunfire, including with bullets targeting front windows,” UN secretary-general spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
[Photo: View of demolished buildings – after Israeli forces raided with bulldozers on Nur Shams Refugee Camp in Tulkarm, West Bank on 28 08, 2024.
Photojournalist: Issam Rimawi /AA]
