Standing outside her home in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Saja Bawaqneh found herself in a familiar position. It was the same spot where her father had been killed by Israeli forces a few years earlier. This time, she was waiting for an Israeli army officer’s signal to start walking towards the city’s main hospital after being forced out of her home due to a 10-day incursion by Israeli soldiers. Accompanied by her family, including her 60-year-old mother, two sisters, pregnant sister-in-law, and young niece and nephew, they had nothing but the clothes on their backs and a small bag with essentials for the children. The incursion, labeled an “earthquake” by residents, resulted in the death of at least 34 Palestinians and extensive damage to the city of Jenin. Israeli army bulldozers destroyed streets and structures, leaving the city under siege for over a week. Despite the soldiers’ withdrawal, residents feared their return. Bawaqneh and her family had been hiding in their kitchen during the incursion, rationing food, water, and medicine. When Israeli soldiers entered their home, they were forced to leave, leaving behind all their belongings. Arriving at the hospital, they found many families in similar situations, displaced and without any belongings. The head of Jenin’s municipality described the incursion as devastating, with about 70 percent of the city destroyed. Many homes were razed, businesses destroyed, and basic infrastructure damaged. Bawaqneh’s family home was vandalized and left unlivable. The municipality is struggling to repair water and power lines amid Israeli forces’ obstruction. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported difficulties in responding to those trapped in Jenin, facing shortages of food, water, and essentials. Israeli soldiers declared the commercial square in the refugee camp a closed military zone, further restricting residents’ movement.
