Home / Reports / Endless war – Nur Shams refugee camp

Endless war – Nur Shams refugee camp

The remains of a destroy house.

By Diana Khwaelid

30 December 2023 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm

A new Israeli incursion into the Nur Shams refugee camp continues an endless war of destruction after destruction.

On the night of Sunday December 30th dozens of military vehicles, including D9 bulldozers, stormed the city of Tulkarm and the Nur Shams refugee camp northeast of the city.

This invasion took place around midnight where the occupation forces surrounded the hospitals in the city, obstructing the movement of ambulances in transporting the injured Palestinians to hospitals.

Several people standing and walking through a street with houses partially destroyed.

The citizens taking stock of partially broken houses.

The Israeli occupation forces besieged the Nur Shams refugee camp for at least 11 continuous hours, from Sunday evening until Monday morning at 10:00 AM. During this, they destroyed infrastructure, cut off electricity, destroyed the water network and cut internet and communication lines.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Red Crescent crews dealt with several injuries on people from both the Nur Shams refugee camp and Tulkarm camp, including a serious injury to a person from Tulkarm camp after the storming of this camp, which took place simultaneously with the storming of Tulkarm city and Nur Shams camp by the Israeli Occupation Forces .

Dalal and Ahmed Khalifa, two Palestinian citizens of the camp whose house was invaded by the Occupation Forces said that the Israeli occupation forces broke into the house at about 3:00 AM.

Picture from inside Dalal Khalifa and her son Ahmed's house following the IOF invasion. Bullets are lying on the floor.

Picture from inside Dalal Khalifa and her son Ahmed’s house following the IOF invasion.

“The occupation forces confiscated all the family’s phones and our IDs, destroyed the house, broke windows and doors, conducted an investigation inside the house, and interrogated all family members, including women.” explained Dalal.

“The Israeli occupation forces did not take into account the presence of children and women in the house, as there were 5 children and two women in the house at the time of the break-in,” she said. “One of the soldiers stole my wallet and stole some of my money, and their break-in continued for at least 5 continuous hours until they left the next morning at 7:30 am.“

78-year-old Hassan Jabari whose house was damaged, explained that “The Israeli occupation forces broke into my house in the camp, and destroyed it from the inside, destroying household furniture and breaking windows. Half of my house was demolished.”

A picture of an older man, Hassan Jabari, clearing rubble from a half destroyed house.

Hassan Jabari clears rubble from his house following the IOF invasion.

“Thank God I was not at home at the time of the storming of the camp. I was at my daughter’s house in Thenaba – one of the villages next to the camp.” He added.

In the recent incursion into the camp, dozens of Palestinian homes were partially or fully destroyed both from inside and outside. The wall belonging to one of the UNRWA international institutions in the camp was destroyed.

During December, the Nur Shams refugee camp has been stormed at least 5 times.

Several people using a bucket to throw rubble out from inside of a house through a big hole in the wall.

People clearing out rubble from a house.