The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has expressed grave concern over the escalating forced displacement of Palestinians in northern parts of the occupied West Bank. Since January, an estimated 40,000 people have been displaced, with several refugee camps, including Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams, and Far’a, nearly emptied of their residents. This comes amid a large-scale Israeli military operation, which began on January 21, targeting the Jenin refugee camp and surrounding areas.
The UNRWA described the current situation as the longest military operation in the West Bank since the second Intifada, with continued raids by Israeli forces causing extensive destruction. On Tuesday, Israeli forces stormed Jenin, arrested three people, and demolished more than a dozen homes near Hebron. UNRWA condemned the “repeated and destructive operations” which have made northern refugee camps uninhabitable, forcing civilians into ongoing cycles of displacement.
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The humanitarian agency noted that the four refugee camps involved were home to approximately 76,600 Palestinian refugees before the current wave of displacement. In addition to ground raids, Israel has also conducted 38 air raids in the West Bank in 2025, contributing to the mounting death toll. According to ACLED, nearly 70 people have been killed in the ongoing operations, with at least 44 deaths linked directly to Israeli actions in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas.
UNRWA has renewed its call for the protection of civilians, condemning the use of collective punishment and calling for the safeguarding of civilian infrastructure. The agency emphasised that the ongoing displacement and destruction are contributing to a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.
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