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by IMEMC News
April 10 2025

Israeli forces have continued their military offensive on Tulkarem and its refugee camps for the 74th consecutive day, including 61 days of intensified assault in Nur Shams refugee camp.

On Thursday morning, Israeli occupation forces demolished the home of Mohammad Jawdat Qassem Shahrour, who is currently imprisoned, in the eastern neighborhood of Tulkarem.

The demolition followed a pre-dawn invasion during which the area was placed under strict military closure, and neighboring residents were forcibly evacuated amidst heavy military reinforcements.

In February, Israeli authorities had notified Shahrour’s family of their intent to seize and demolish his ground-floor apartment in a four-story residential building. Shahrour, 28, has been detained since April 9, 2024.

Late Wednesday night, Israeli military vehicles and foot patrols were heavily deployed in Tulkarem, particularly in the eastern neighborhood and the city center.

The soldiers set up a sudden military roadblock on the road leading to Martyr Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital, disrupting traffic and delaying the movement of ambulances and residents.

Israeli forces also invaded a café on the same street, interrogating several young men present at the time.

Meanwhile, the eastern neighborhood’s Al-Muqata’a Street witnessed heightened military activity, including flying checkpoints and thorough vehicle inspections.

In an unprecedented escalation, Israeli forces unloaded a truck carrying pigs in the employee housing area of Ak-Taba, near Nur Shams refugee camp, east of Tulkarem, according to WAFA News Agency.

This provocative act has raised concerns among residents about potential harm to public safety and property, as the animals were seen roaming agricultural lands early Thursday morning.

Simultaneously, Israeli forces deployed additional military reinforcements, including infantry units and armored vehicles, to Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

The reinforcements were accompanied by live fire and intermittent explosions.

In related news, the soldiers demolished, on Thursday morning, the home of Ibrahim Mahmoud Droubi in Shufa village, located southeast of Tulkarem.

Local sources reported that the demolition was carried out unexpectedly, without prior notice, using two military bulldozers.

The attack was conducted under heavy military protection, with Israeli soldiers invading the area, storming neighboring homes, and occupying their rooftops.

According to the sources, the army forced Droubi to evacuate his home within a short timeframe and did not allow him to retrieve any belongings before the house was demolished.

During the demolition, Israeli forces assaulted Droubi’s family members and neighbors who rushed to support him. The soldiers fired concussion grenades, tear gas, and rubber-coated steel bullets at anyone attempting to approach the area.

The army also detained Droubi’s brothers and physically assaulted them and their father, leaving one of the brothers injured by a rubber-coated steel bullet.

The demolished home, built over five years ago, was a single-story structure located in the northern part of the village. Droubi had received a demolition notice nearly two years ago as part of Israel’s policy aimed at pressuring and forcibly displacing residents of the area.

On Wednesday, the army demolished a home in the Al-Manshiyya neighborhood of Nur Shams refugee camp, seized several homes, and converted them into military outposts after forcibly evicting residents and barring their return under threat.

Israeli forces have also taken over residential buildings and homes along Nablus Street and in Tulkarem’s northern neighborhood, turning them into military outposts.

Military vehicles remain stationed in these areas, while residents face severe restrictions on movement as the roads have been blocked with earth mounds in both directions.

This escalation is part of Israel’s systematic offensive on Tulkarem and its refugee camps, which has resulted in the deaths of 13 Palestinians, including a child and two women—one of whom was eight months pregnant.

Dozens of Palestinians have been injured or abducted, while more than 4,000 families have been forcibly displaced from Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

Additional families from the city’s northern neighborhood have also been displaced after their homes were seized and converted into military outposts.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction to infrastructure, homes, businesses, and vehicles, with 396 homes demolished and 2,573 partially damaged in Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps. The entrances and alleys of both camps remain blocked with earth mounds, further isolating residents.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that the soldiers killed a Palestinian woman, Amana Ibrahim Mohammad Yacoub, 30, near a traffic light at the entrance of Hares village, west of Salfit.

Also, an elderly Palestinian man died of a heart attack on Tuesday, while Israeli forces carried out a demolition operation in the village of Wadi Fukin, west of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank.

Media sources said that the elderly citizen, Ghazi Badr Mufreh Manasra (70 years old) died after suffering a heart attack when occupation forces assaulted the owners of the targeted homes.

Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers have now killed 119 Palestinians, including 21 children and seven women, in several parts of the occupied West Bank, since the beginning of this year.

The army has killed 51 Palestinians in Jenin, 20 in Tubas, 15 in Nablus, 14 in Tulkarem, 5 in Hebron, 4 in Bethlehem, 3 in Qalqilia, 3 in Jerusalem, 2 in Ramallah, and 2 in Salfit.

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