The Israeli army continues its offensive against Jenin. For almost 48 hours, this Palestinian city has been undergoing a military operation on an almost unprecedented scale. The city was bombed. Israel claims to track Palestinian armed groups. In Jenin, like almost everywhere in the Palestinian Territories, there is the city, but also the adjoining refugee camp. And it is precisely this camp that is mainly targeted by Israel.
With our special correspondent in Jenin, Sami Boukhelifa
An explosion. A man is on the ground, while another calls for help. The ambulance arrives. On board, Mohamed, a member of the Palestinian Red Crescent, has been making more interventions for 48 hours: “ The situation is untenable. Everyone is a potential target: children, women, the elderly. Everyone here is in danger. Even behind the walls of your home, you are not safe. The Israeli occupation army is ruthless “.
After sporadic shooting, Israeli tanks appear at the end of a street. Young Palestinians are there, hooded, cobblestones in their hands. Ridiculous weapons, faced with over-equipped soldiers. Ayman is 18 years old. He says he is defending his city, his country, Palestine. ” We are at home, in Jenin. We won’t move from here. We are resisters. This city is Palestinian, and will remain solaunches this young man. They won’t be able to break our resolve. They can deploy their tanks, deploy all their military arsenal, fire rockets and missiles, it won’t change anything. We won’t leave this land, which is ours “.
The Israelis” destroyed everything »
Not far from there, at the Jenin hospital, ambulances arrive one after the other. On board are wounded. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, eleven Palestinians were killed and 100 injured, 20 of whom are in serious condition.
Report from Jenin Hospital
Once treated, they will have to share their rooms with the families of the displaced. Nearly 3,000 of the 18,000 inhabitants of the Jenin refugee camp have been displaced by the Israeli army in the past few hours. Some have found refuge in the schools of the city. Others have slept here, in the middle of the stretchers, like Oum Baraa: “ The children did not stop screaming. They were terrified by the explosions. My mother is old, she too was terrified by the bombardments. The Israelis shoot anything that moves. They destroyed everything. It is a disaster. »
According to Oum Baraa, it was the Israeli army that demanded the departure of the women and children from the Jenin camp. The army’s objective is to inspect all homes and track down Palestinian fighters. “ We left in a rush, and we got separated along the way, along with the rest of the family. It was pulling in all directions. It was terrifying, terrifying. To be forced out of your home, what a humiliation. People were fleeing, children were screaming. It was save who can. A real chaos », Laments Oum Baraa.
Members of Oum Baraa’s family are scattered in the villages around Jenin. Everyone found refuge where they could.
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