Israeli forces reportedly blocked ambulances from reaching the camp and arrested a rescue worker as they intensified their raids.
Israeli forces killed at least five Palestinians on Sunday morning in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, bringing to seven the number of Israeli raids, including drone strikes, in the occupied territories in the past 24 hours.
Two of the victims were killed in drone strikes while several others were injured during the large-scale military offensive in Tulkarem, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, citing local media and medical sources.
Wafa identified the victims as Jihad Aarneh, 25, Mahmoud Samer Jaber, 22, Ghayth Yasser Shahada, 25, Waleed Asaad Zahra, 22, and Asaad Asad Zahra, 33.
At least two Palestinians were killed in two separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.
The Israeli military confirmed its forces used aircraft to target Palestinians in the town, saying it struck and killed fighters who threw explosives at them from the Nur Shams camp.
Following the airstrike, Israeli forces prevented ambulances from reaching the camp and arrested a rescue worker, Wafa reported. Israeli forces also carried out a large-scale raid with tanks and bulldozers, according to Wafa.
Also on Sunday, a Palestinian died from injuries sustained after an Israeli attack in Jenin days earlier, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Charles Stratford, reporting from the Tulkarem refugee camp, said the raid began at 1 a.m. Sunday and lasted nine hours. He said Israeli forces fired projectiles from drones at camp residents and, according to residents, blocked the entrance of ambulances to treat the injured for four hours.
“Approximately 17,000 people live in this camp and face raids like this almost every day,” Stratford said.
“The situation highlights not only the type of territory thousands of civilians are facing, but also the enormous difficulties medical teams face as these raids continue,” he said.
Israeli military raids and settler attacks have intensified in the occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7.
During this period, at least 297 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and settlers, making it the deadliest year on record in 18 years.
The toll includes at least 65 dead children and 3,365 injured.
Israeli authorities have also stepped up arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, with more than 4,500 people arrested in the past two months, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.
In the besieged Gaza Strip, at least 18,787 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, according to the territory’s health ministry.
Israel says Hamas’s attack on Israel that day killed 1,139 people, mostly civilians.
