A military operation launched by the Israeli occupation forces at dawn on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, which included an attack on the cities of Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and towns in the northern occupied West Bank, targeting resistance fighters there. Israel described it as the largest since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
The Palestinian Red Crescent announced 11 martyrs during the first hours of the operation, most of whom were resistance fighters in the Palestinian factions who were targeted by drones.
Start of the process
At dawn on August 28, 2024, the Israeli occupation forces imposed a complete siege on the cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm, with the participation of the Kfir Brigade (an infantry brigade), 4 Border Guard battalions, undercover units, elite forces, and military engineering units, in coordination with the General Security Service (Shabak) and with support from the Israeli Air Force, which sent military helicopters, fighter jets and drones to provide cover for the ground forces.
The occupation launched this operation because the situation in the West Bank “has become a serious source of concern” for the occupation, according to Israeli media.
Israeli forces targeted what they described as the infrastructure of Palestinian military arms, in an attempt to reoccupy the northern West Bank, and began raids from several axes.
The forces attacked Jenin Governorate from three axes, and penetrated from the Jalameh checkpoint to the north and from the Salem and Dotan checkpoints to the west. This coincided with additional forces storming the city of Tulkarm from the Nitzan Ya’oz axes to the west, the Jabara checkpoints to the south, and the Anab checkpoints to the east.
The operation was more concentrated in the eastern part of Tulkarm, where the occupation forces carried out a paratrooper landing and then stormed the city from the eastern side via the Al-Hamra and Atouf axes.
West Bank escalations
In Jenin, the occupation forces cut off the roads leading to Ibn Sina Hospital, placed earthen barriers around it to completely close it, surrounded Khalil Suleiman Hospital, and evacuated Jenin Governmental Hospital after checking the identities of those present there.
The occupation forces completed the destruction of the infrastructure of Jenin camp, and completed what they had started in previous raids.
In Jerusalem, the occupation forces stormed the Shuafat camp from several directions with more than 150 soldiers, and closed its entrances.
In Tulkarm, the occupation forces destroyed the main water line of Nour Shams camp, and clashes broke out between the resistance.
The Tulkarm Battalion announced the downing of a drone in the Manshiyya axis, and the targeting of snipers in a house in the Nour Shams camp, confirming that there were casualties.
The battalion indicated that it engaged in fierce clashes with the occupation forces on the Manshiyya and main street axes, in addition to clashes on the Jabal al-Nasr axis.
In Tubas, specifically in the Far’a camp, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced the detonation of an explosive device with the power of a “Dufdufan”, which was dropped by the occupation helicopters, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the arrival of 7 martyrs to the Tubas Governmental Hospital.
The occupation forces detained a number of Palestinian Red Crescent crews.
“The horror of the camps” the Palestinian response
The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement, and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), announced shooting operations, clashes, and targeting of military vehicles, in response to the occupation operation.
Video clips of an Israeli army bulldozer and vehicles being damaged by explosive devices were circulated.
The Al-Quds Brigades called this response “the terror of the camps,” and its fighters vowed that they would make the enemy taste this terror.
The Islamic Jihad Movement said in a statement that “the operation comes within the context of the enemy’s plans to impose control over the city of Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent announced 11 martyrs during the first hours of the operation, most of whom were resistance fighters in the Palestinian factions who were targeted by drones.
Clashes
In Tulkarm, the Israeli occupation army announced on August 29 the assassination of Muhammad Jaber Abu Shuja, commander of the Tulkarm Battalion, after besieging a building he was inside and exchanging fire.
The Israeli forces fired a missile at the besieged building, and after the armed clashes ended, they announced the death of “Abu Shuja” and 4 of those who were with him.
In Jenin, the Qassam Brigades announced on August 30 that a soldier was killed and others were injured in an ambush with explosive devices in the eastern neighborhood, in addition to the resistance engaging in clashes with a special Israeli force that infiltrated the town of Zababdeh.
The Al-Qassam Brigades also targeted an Israeli military vehicle with a highly explosive device, which resulted in a direct hit on the vehicle and the deaths and injuries of its personnel.