'I saved my ID card and my dog': Israel expands demolitions of West Bank refugee homes

On the nighttime Israeli forces entered Jenin exile campy successful the occupied West Bank and began ordering its 20,000 Palestinian residents to permission their homes, 66-year-old Jumaa Zawayda said helium would refuse.

"My household each near but I told them I had to stay, if Israeli forces travel to raid our location I privation to beryllium determination to halt it being damaged."

What followed was 3 days of fear, with the changeless dependable of gunfire, explosions and drones flying done the neighbourhood, and issuing of orders that Jumaa couldn't marque retired amid the noise. Then h2o and energy was chopped off, his telephone ran retired of artillery and Jumaa felt helium could nary longer stay.

Now, 3 months later, Jumaa is lasting connected a elevation successful Jenin city, looking retired implicit the shade municipality of the exile campy to which helium and the different residents are inactive prevented from returning by the Israeli military.

He's trying to spot if his location is 1 of the galore destroyed by the Israeli forces during their operations against Palestinian equipped groups that were contiguous successful the camp. The dependable of ongoing explosions tin beryllium heard below.

"Some radical person told maine they deliberation our gathering was demolished, but we don't cognize for certain," says Jumaa, struggling to explicit himself done his emotion.

The begetter of nine, who utilized to enactment successful construction, stayed for 3 months successful a school-turned-shelter for the camp's displaced residents. He has present moved into accommodation for assemblage students that helium shares with his brother.

Before the outbreak of the warfare successful Gaza successful October 2023, Israel was already engaged successful a subject run against equipped groups successful the West Bank.

A fig of groups emerged successful the densely-populated municipality exile camps created for Palestinians who fled oregon were expelled from their homes during the warfare that followed the instauration of the authorities of Israel successful 1948.

The main groups successful Jenin campy are affiliated to Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. Their fighters person mostly attacked Israeli subject forces, alongside sporadic attacks connected Israeli settlers successful the West Bank.

The fig of fighters is chartless but section journalists estimation that determination were astir 150 fighters successful Jenin campy anterior to the caller operations by some Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, launched its ain crackdown successful Jenin campy successful December 2024 and its forces lone withdrew erstwhile the Israeli subject began its large cognition determination successful January.

Israel's defence curate has called the camps "nests of terror" and successful January stepped up its run against the equipped groups operating wrong them – entering and blockading a fig of exile camps successful the bluish West Bank that are location to tens of thousands of Palestinians.

It ordered residents to permission and began a question of gathering demolitions, portion giving immoderate residents little opportunities to stitchery belongings.

But with Israel astir wholly blocking entree to the camps and not publically announcing which buildings they've destroyed, galore Palestinians are distraught astir whether they person a location to instrumentality to.

The UN's Palestinian exile bureau Unrwa says its champion estimation is that Israel has razed astatine slightest 260 buildings containing astir 800 apartments during "Operation Iron Wall", focusing connected 3 exile camps successful the northbound of the West Bank: Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams. Unrwa estimates that 42,000 Palestinians person been displaced from the camps since January.

In February, the Israeli subject announced it had killed 60 fighters successful its operations and arrested 280 others. Meanwhile Palestinian wellness officials accidental 100 radical person been killed successful the West Bank since the commencement of Israel's January cognition until today.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said the service was destroying weapons and infrastructure "on an extended scale" and said helium had instructed the subject to stay successful the exile camps for a twelvemonth and forestall residents returning there.

The Israeli subject told the BBC that the militias "exploit the civilian colonisation arsenic quality shields and endanger them by planting explosive devices and hiding weapons".

On 1 May, Israel gave Palestinian officials successful the West Bank a caller representation of 106 buildings it said it would demolish successful Tulkarem and Nur Shams exile camps successful the adjacent 24 hours for "military purposes". It said residents could use for a little model to instrumentality location to retrieve indispensable belongings.

Aid agencies accidental that Israel's run has caused the largest forced displacement of Palestinians successful the West Bank successful decades.

"What's happening is unprecedented," says Roland Friedrich, Unrwa's West Bank director.

"In presumption of the fig of displaced radical and the level of destruction, we've ne'er seen thing similar it since 1967," helium added, referring to the twelvemonth Israel began its subject concern of the West Bank.

While filming an interrogation with the politician of Jenin, the BBC witnessed Israeli forces detain respective Palestinians, including municipality workers who were attempting to participate the campy successful bid to wide a way to a adjacent hospital. They were kept for 3 hours earlier being released.

"There are large challenges, successful presumption of providing services to citizens. As everyone knows, the infrastructure successful Jenin campy has been wholly demolished," says Mayor Mohammad Jarrar.

"Israel's extremity is to effort to marque Jenin campy wholly unfit to unrecorded in, and I'm telling you it has present go wholly unliveable."

Israel's blockade of West Bank exile camps has made establishing accusation astir what is happening wrong astir impossible, says Unrwa's Roland Friedrich, including the nonstop grade of demolitions.

Jumaa is among immoderate of the displaced Palestinians who were granted a little sojourn location by Israeli forces successful bid to retrieve belongings. He was capable conscionable to drawback his UN ID paper and the household dog. Then 2 months later, successful March, Israel issued a representation of implicit 90 buildings it identified for demolition successful Jenin. Jumaa's residence looked to beryllium among them.

The Israeli subject told the BBC that it was indispensable to demolish these buildings successful bid to amended "freedom of movement" for its forces, but did not corroborate whether Jumaa's location was so destroyed.

The BBC has compared Israel's March demolition representation to outer imagery of Jenin taken a week later. We person been capable to corroborate that, by 27 March, astatine slightest 33 buildings connected the list, including Jumaa's, were destroyed. Satellite imagery reveals galore further demolitions person taken spot since January, including the operation of caller roads by Israeli forces wherever buildings antecedently stood.

"Why did they demolish my house? I privation to know. I privation the Israeli service to springiness maine justification. I had nary links to militants. I'm a peaceful person," says Jumaa.

"I worked occupation to occupation for 50 years to physique my home."

Despite learning that his location was demolished, Jumaa remains insistent that helium volition instrumentality home.

"I won't permission the camp. If they won't fto maine rebuild my house, I volition acceptable up a structure successful its place," helium said.

"Isn't it capable that my household were displaced successful 1948, present we indispensable look displacement again?"

Additional reporting by Lina Shaikhouni and Daniele Palumbo.