“The occupation authorities are still occupying and besieging the Tulkarem camp and displacing its residents at gunpoint,” Deputy Governor Faisal Salama said in a statement.
“The Israeli forces are still wreaking havoc in the houses, streets, alleys, and all facilities in the camp,” he added.
Salama said 40 buildings in the camp comprising 100 residential apartments have been destroyed by Israeli forces since their raids began last month after the start of the ceasefire in Gaza.
“The Israeli army burned 10 houses and demolished nearly 300 shops in the camp,” he added.
WHO concerned about Israeli attacks on healthcare in West Bank
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it is deeply concerned about the effect of Israeli attacks on healthcare in the occupied West Bank, Al Jazeera reports.
Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the West Bank and Gaza, told reporters via videolink from the Gaza Strip that attacks on healthcare are “starkly rising” in the West Bank.
He said there have been 44 attacks this year that affected the provision of healthcare in the West Bank, with four healthcare facilities affected. Four patients died waiting for an ambulance and eight health workers were injured while attempting to reach patients.
The WHO also said 25 healthcare workers and patients had been killed and 121 injured in the West Bank from October 7, 2023, to February 14 this year.
The organisation reported “severe movement restrictions” across the West Bank, including obstacles affecting the movement of ambulances and access for healthcare workers.
Dr Saeed Salah, medical director of the Friends of the Patient Charitable Hospital in Gaza City, said on Tuesday that three newborns – aged between one and two days – died shortly after being admitted. Two more children also succumbed on Tuesday morning, with a sixth death reported in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
Gaza’s civil defence agency also confirmed recording the deaths of six newborns due to the severe cold wave and lack of heating over the past week.
Salah said his hospital’s nursery department had recently received eight cases of severe hypothermia, all requiring intensive care.
“Doctors confirmed that these newborn babies arrived to the hospital not suffering from any particular diseases,” said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from the medical facility.
“They were simply born and their family had no way to keep them warm – and this has been the case for the past few days since the cold weather struck the area,” he said.
Hamas decried the deaths of the newborns, calling them a result of Israel’s “criminal” policies. In a statement, it also urged mediators and the international community to intervene and ensure the entry of shelter and other essential humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.There was no immediate comment by the Israeli army.
The deaths of the children come as Israel continues to block the entry of temporary housing into Gaza, despite agreeing to allow it under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Thousands of mobile homes remain stranded at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, awaiting Israeli authorisation to enter the besieged Palestinian territory.
According to the United Nations, at least eight newborns died of hypothermia in Gaza in December alone, while 74 children perished “amid the brutal conditions of winter”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also raised alarm over escalating attacks on healthcare facilities in the occupied West Bank.
“We see the current flashpoints of violence, attacks on healthcare … starkly rising in the West Bank,” Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, told journalists during a press briefing from Gaza on Tuesday.
Between April and December 2024, the WHO documented 694 attacks on healthcare facilities in the West Bank.
Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank have intensified in recent months, particularly in the north.
In Tulkarem refugee camp, Israeli forces have maintained a siege for 30 consecutive days, forcibly displacing residents.t
An Israeli military onslaught in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the northern West Bank has displaced 12,000 Palestinian residents, a local official said on Tuesday.
“The occupation authorities are still occupying and besieging the Tulkarem camp and displacing its residents at gunpoint,” Deputy Governor Faisal Salama said in a statement.
“The Israeli forces are still wreaking havoc in the houses, streets, alleys, and all facilities in the camp,” he added.
Salama said 40 buildings comprising 100 residential apartments were destroyed by Israeli forces in the camp since last month.
“The Israeli army burnt 10 houses and demolished nearly 300 shops in the camp,” he added.
The deputy governor said the Israeli assault in the northern West Bank aims to achieve political goals and reshape the demographic structure in the camp.
The army has been conducting military operations in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, killing more than 61 Palestinians and displacing thousands, according to Palestinian officials.
Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 923 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.
Faisal Salama, head of the Popular Committee for Tulkarem Camp Services, told Wafa news on Tuesday that Israeli forces had demolished at least 40 residential buildings, including 100 apartments, and set fire to at least 10 homes.
In Jenin, where Israel has been conducting a month-long assault, more than 20,000 people have been forcibly displaced.
The Jenin municipality reported this week that Israeli forces had completely demolished at least 120 homes in the city’s refugee camp.