Palestinian children are seen among the rubble of destroyed houses after Israeli attacks in Jenin camp, the northern West Bank, on Feb. 26, 2025. The West Bank is becoming a battlefield, and ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer, a UN official warned on Wednesday. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
RAMALLAH, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The West Bank is becoming a battlefield, and ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer, a UN official warned on Wednesday.
"The West Bank is undergoing an alarming spillover of the Gaza war," Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said on social media platform X.
More than 50 people, including children, have been reportedly killed since the Israeli forces' large-scale operation started five weeks ago, Lazzarini said. "Destruction of public infrastructure, bulldozing roads and access restrictions are common place."
Around 40,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, especially in refugee camps in the north, he said, adding, "More than 5,000 children who normally go to UNRWA schools have been deprived of education, some for over 10 weeks now. Patients cannot access healthcare, families are cut off from water, electricity and other basic services." ■
Palestinian children are seen among the rubble of destroyed houses after Israeli attacks in Jenin camp, the northern West Bank, on Feb. 26, 2025. The West Bank is becoming a battlefield, and ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer, a UN official warned on Wednesday. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave their homes amid Israeli raids in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, the northern West Bank, on Feb. 26, 2025. The West Bank is becoming a battlefield, and ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer, a UN official warned on Wednesday. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
Palestinian children are seen among the rubble of destroyed houses after Israeli attacks in Jenin camp, the northern West Bank, on Feb. 26, 2025. The West Bank is becoming a battlefield, and ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer, a UN official warned on Wednesday. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
Palestinians carry their belongings as they leave their homes amid Israeli raids in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarm, the northern West Bank, on Feb. 26, 2025. The West Bank is becoming a battlefield, and ordinary Palestinians are the first and most to suffer, a UN official warned on Wednesday. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
