Category: Photo Story - Page 3 - International Solidarity Movement

Israeli Military Operation in Tulkarm Camp

23 August 2024 | International Solidarity Movement | Tulkarm Camp

*Tulkarm – West Bank*
*22-Aug-2024*
*By Diana Khwaelid*

On the night of August 22, Israeli occupation forces carried out a massive military operation in the Tulkarm refugee camp that lasted 14 hours. Armed clashes took place between Palestinian resistance and Israeli forces in the camp.

**Siege of the camp**
Israeli occupation forces surrounded all the main entrances to the camp, blocking roads with various military vehicles. The siege lasted 14 hours, cutting off electricity, water, and internet. Israeli snipers were deployed on rooftops and surrounding buildings.

**Israeli military reinforcements**
Israeli forces continued to send reinforcements to Tulkarm throughout the operation, centered in the refugee camp. This led to heightened tensions between Palestinians in the camp and the surrounding city.

**Destruction of camp infrastructure**
A month and a half after the last military operation, during which roads and infrastructure were repaired by the municipality and Palestinian Civil Defense, Israeli forces again stormed the camp and destroyed the newly repaired infrastructure. Bulldozers began clearing the main entrance to the camp, known as the Madrasa corridor, and destroyed roads, power lines, water networks, and the sewage system. This destruction of infrastructure by Israeli forces is not the first, nor will it be the last.

**Obstruction of ambulances**
Israeli occupation forces obstructed Palestinian ambulances from entering the camp to transport the injured. Volunteer medical teams inside the camp risked their lives to assist the wounded, and they were the ones who transported the bodies of Palestinians hit by Israeli shelling.

**Destruction and shelling of houses**
Dozens of Palestinian homes and shops were bombed and destroyed, either partially or totally. Israeli forces bombed more than four houses using drones, including one in the town of Aktabah, a neighborhood northeast of Tulkarm.

**Three Palestinian martyrs**
Three Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli aerial bombardment inside one of the camp’s houses. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, three Palestinians were seriously injured by Israeli shelling while seeking shelter. The martyrs are Imad Shuraim, 34, Muawiya Al-Hajj Ahmed, 30, and Wasim Anbar, 30—all residents of Tulkarm refugee camp. Their bodies were buried three hours after Israeli forces withdrew, with their relatives bidding them a final farewell in the Danaba cemetery near the camp.

Palestinian elder raises his flag in defiance of the occupation forces

Huge Destruction Suffered by Nur Shams Refugee Camp

*Tulkarm – Nur Shams Refugee Camp*
June 9, 2024
By Diana Khwaelid*

At midnight on June 9, occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarm and stationed themselves in the Nur Shams camp, northeast of Tulkarm. A military operation that lasted for more than 13 continuous hours ensued, during which the Israeli occupation forces vandalized and destroyed the camp on the orders of Israeli military officials.

According to the residents of the camp, “this incursion was the most difficult and dangerous of the Israeli military incursions,” despite the exposure of the residents of Nur Shams camp to dozens of previous incursions.

Dozens of Israeli military vehicles stormed the camp and the Manshiyeh neighborhood. D9 and 5 bulldozers sabotaged and destroyed the main road of the camp, Nablus Street. They also destroyed the camp’s infrastructure, including the water network and power lines.

Dozens of shops were damaged, including a pharmacy, restaurants, and private shops for cellular devices. Many Palestinian homes were destroyed as a result of the vandalism and destruction of the camp.

The Israeli occupation forces conducted the destruction accompanied by military vehicles, especially bulldozers, while Palestinian civilians, including women and children, were inside their homes. The occupation forces did not ask or care about those inside the houses or whether they were physically harmed.

Medical and Palestinian Civil Defence crews rushed to the camp immediately after the withdrawal of military vehicles at around 3 pm, following more than 13 hours of continuous destruction. The medical staff stated that they had not received any reports or dealt with any injuries inside the camp. It was like a miracle that the occupation entered and left without causing physical injuries.

Palestinians inside the camp said: “في المال ولا في العيال”, good it happened “to the money and not to the families,” meaning that at least the destruction was only to material things (homes, streets, and camps) and no life was taken.

After the Israeli Hebrew media published a special report on Tulkarm, especially the Nur Shams camp, Israeli news agencies, citing Israeli security sources, stated that the city of Tulkarm, particularly the refugee camps, must end. According to the statements of the Israeli army, “Tulkarm city is a city of terrorism.”

The people of the Nur Shams refugee camp refused to leave the camp. The majority decided to stay, no matter what happened. A Palestinian survivor whose house was destroyed said, “I will build a better house than the one destroyed by the occupation.”

The Israeli occupation forces continue to carry out incursions, destruction, murder, and arrests in the West Bank, especially in the city of Tulkarem.

Nur Al Shams resident: the camp has become a ‘microcosm of Gaza’

By International Solidary Movement
Ramallah, July 4, 2024

Over the past three days, Nur Shams refugee camp has faced intense fear and sadness due to recent bombings and killings by Israeli forces. The latest raid targeted four Palestinian youths, marking the fourth consecutive day of violence.

On July 2nd, at around 10:30 p.m., Israeli forces carried out an airstrike in the camp, east of Tulkarm. Four palestinian fighters were killed. The attack involved a drone strike. The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed the deaths of Yazid Shafa (22), Nimr Hamarshah (25), Muhammad Shehada (20), and Muhammad Knuh (22). The camp is in mourning, with continued incursions aiming to suppress any form of resistance.

A resident described the situation as a microcosm of Gaza, with continuous incursions, demolitions, shelling, arrests, and killings over the past year and a half, escalating after the recent war on Gaza.

The camp has endured over 30 incursions to date. The death toll in Tulkarm has reached 122 since October 7. The residents of Nur Shams camp are in deep sorrow, feeling unsafe amid ongoing military operations.

This is a photo of the remains of the rocket or shell that was fired at Palestinians 4 — This is a photo of the remains of the rocket or shell that was fired at palestinians

The Israeli occupation forces use a warplane to carry out an assassination in Nur Shams Camp

By Diana Khwaelid

Tulkarm-Nur Shams refugee camp

30 – Jun – 2024

The Israeli occupying forces carried out an assassination in partnership with the Israeli commander in charge of the north-central areas of the West Bank and The Israeli internal security service, an assassination in broad daylight in the Nur Shams refugee camp northeast of the city of Tulkarem in the West Bank.

At about 2: 00pm an Israeli warplane bombed a Palestinian house in the Al-Manshiyeh area of the camp,with Palestinian resistance members inside. The bombing resulted in the death of a Palestinian man, and injured five others. Two of them are in serious condition.

According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, there are at least four Palestinian houses damaged by this shelling, where women, children, and men were living inside and whose lives were threatenede as a result of shrapnel that penetrated the walls of their houses and the windows were broken from the force of the shelling.

A resident of Nour Shams Camp looks out of her window after the Israeli attack — A resident of Nur Shams Camp looks out of her window after the Israeli attack

A resident of Nour Shams sits amongst shrapnel strewn inside his home after the Israeli bombardment — A resident of Nur Shams sits amongst shrapnel strewn inside his home after the Israeli bombardment

The Palestinian medical and civil defense teams rushed to secure the house and the area. They recovered the injured and the body of the Palestinian martyr Saad Jaber, 24, who died as a result of his injury.

The residents of Nur al-Shams camp are living in a state of fear due to the increase in Israeli attacks on the camp over the past few months.

Hundreds of Palestinians mourned the Palestinian martyr Said Ezzat Jaber, 24, who Israeli occupation forces tried to assassinate more than once. The last time a few days ago, but he miraculously survived these attempts. Said is considered one of the most prominent Palestinian resisters in the camp and he died defending the camp today. The people of the camp are mourning him and saying goodbye for the last time.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, there are at least 116 martyrs in the city of Tulkarm since October 7.

The funeral of a martyr from Nour Shams — The funeral of a martyr from Nur Shams

Three martyred and five wounded in Tulkarem

By Diana Khwaelid

Three Palestinian men were martyred and more than five Palestinians were wounded during the Israeli occupation’s invasion of Tulkarem.

The city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank has witnessed dozens of incursions by the Israeli occupation forces recently. Since 7th October, the number of martyrs of the city of Tulkarm has risen to 109, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

On 16th May, Israeli occupation forces stormed the city of Tulkarm around 1:00 AM. The Israeli occupation forces stationed themselves in the city center on Nablus Street, where the occupation vehicles, accompanied by a D9 bulldozer, stormed the Gulf Exchange store. Israeli occupation forces completely destroyed the store and confiscated its money safe under the pretext that the exchange store transferred money to Palestinian organizations described by Israeli occupation forces as terrorist organizations.

The Israeli occupation forces also deployed snipers throughout the city in buildings and on the roofs of Palestinian homes. These snipers killed three Palestinian youths and wounded more than five other Palestinians.

The Palestinian martyrs are: Ahmed Mubarak, 26, from Tulkarem camp; Imad Dabbas, 22; and Mohammed Yusuf Nasrallah, 27.

Funeral processions started from Tulkarem’s Martyr Doctor Thabit Thabit Governmental Hospital amid angry national chants condemning the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the residents of Tulkarem and the massacres in the West Bank and Gaza.

The families of the martyrs bid a last farewell with a state of great sadness and sorrow.