The dim torchlights began to flicker as night fell at 6 p.m. Thursday – the power had been cut off in the afternoon.
Families carrying children made their way through the streets of the Jenin refugee camp, trying to escape the crossfire during eight hours of relentless gunfire and drone attacks that began that morning when Israeli soldiers were entered by force with a large convoy of armored vehicles.
After the Israeli army announced over a loudspeaker that it would give civilians just two hours to leave, people began to leave. But no one knew how long the raid would last.
Many families fled to the hospital in search of safety, as fighting spread to the city center and the Israeli army surrounded the camp.
Even before its major offensive on Jenin on Thursday, the Israeli army had razed the streets with armored bulldozers for several days – day and night. This was nothing new to the people in this camp. Since its creation in 1953, it has been the subject of frequent raids aimed at destroying infrastructure and arresting Palestinians.
The latest fighting left at least 14 Palestinians dead, including some combatants. They were buried among the graves of other slain fighters following a large funeral procession on Friday that ended at the Jenin camp cemetery.
