RAMALLAH, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli army ended a large-scale military operation in Tulkarm in the northern West Bank on Thursday after 20 hours, said Palestinian sources.
Palestinian security sources, who require anonymity, told Xinhua that Israeli forces stormed the city and its two refugee camps, Tulkarm and Nour Shams, since Wednesday morning amid gunfire.
The sources said that the forces blew up a house in Tulkarm camp and carried out extensive destruction, bulldozing infrastructure and damaging communications, electricity, as well as water and sewage networks.
The Israeli army accused the son of the house's owner, who was arrested in January 2024, of carrying out a shooting attack in November 2023 that resulted in the death of an Israeli soldier.
The Israeli forces also stormed the Nour Shams camp east of Tulkarm, destroying infrastructure and opening heavy gunfire. Explosions were heard in the vicinity, causing a power outage in the camp and large parts of the city and its suburbs, said the Palestinian security sources.
The governor of Tulkarm in the Palestinian Authority, Abdullah Kamil, stated in a press statement that the military operation in Tulkarm is "a new crime added to the series of crimes committed by the occupation, with malicious goals aimed at spreading chaos, destruction, and sabotage."
The Israeli army has not yet commented on the operation.
Cities, villages, and camps in the West Bank have been experiencing escalating tensions since Oct. 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of more than 800 Palestinians from Israeli gunfire and shelling, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. ■
