14 Killed in Israeli Strike on Tulkarem Refugee Camp in West Bank \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ A strike by the Israeli military on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank killed 14 people on Thursday. This strike is part of an ongoing escalation since the Israeli-Hamas conflict began last October, with Tulkarem and other northern cities in the West Bank facing significant violence. Meanwhile, conflict continues to flare across southern Lebanon and Gaza, with both sides reporting numerous casualties.
Israeli Strike on Tulkarem and Regional Tensions: Quick Looks
- Israeli Strike on Tulkarem: An Israeli military strike on the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank killed at least 14 people on Thursday.
- Escalation in Southern Lebanon: Israel warned civilians to evacuate southern Lebanon, as ground clashes with Hezbollah escalated, killing nine Israeli soldiers.
- First Responders Targeted in Lebanon: Strikes in Lebanon killed 28 health workers, with medical services being severely impacted across southern areas.
Deep Look
The conflict in the region continues to escalate as the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that an Israeli strike on Thursday left 14 people dead in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank. The Israeli military confirmed the strike but provided no details on the specific target, stating only that the operation was carried out in coordination with the Shin Bet internal security service. Tulkarem, a militant stronghold in the northern West Bank, has seen an intensification of violence since the Israeli-Hamas conflict erupted last October.
This escalation in Tulkarem is part of a broader surge in violence across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, particularly in the northern regions. As tensions rise, cities like Tulkarem and Jenin have experienced some of the worst clashes, exacerbating an already volatile situation in the occupied territories. The strikes come amid increased operations by the Israeli military in the West Bank, a territory that has witnessed a significant rise in hostilities and frequent military operations.
As the situation in the West Bank intensified, Israel also issued a warning to people in southern Lebanon to evacuate communities north of a U.N.-declared buffer zone. This move suggests Israel is poised to expand its ongoing ground operation against Hezbollah, launched earlier in the week. The call for evacuation includes Nabatieh, a provincial capital, and several other communities north of the Litani River. This region is historically significant, as it marks the northern boundary of a border zone established by the U.N. Security Council after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Both sides have long accused each other of violating that resolution.
In southern Lebanon, clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters have already claimed nine Israeli soldiers. The Israeli military has termed its latest operations in Lebanon as a “limited ground incursion,” but tensions are mounting as the region braces for further escalation in response to an Iranian ballistic missile attack earlier in the week.
The violence has taken a heavy toll on first responders and civilians in Lebanon. According to the World Health Organization, 28 health workers were killed on Thursday, severely limiting access to medical care as dozens of health facilities in the south shut down, with five hospitals either partially or completely evacuated in Beirut. Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad condemned the attacks, calling them a “war crime” that violates international law and treaties. “International laws are clear in protecting these people — I mean, paramedics. Who gave Israel the right to be the judge and the executioner at the same time?” Abiad asked.
The Lebanese Red Cross reported that an Israeli strike wounded four of its paramedics and killed a Lebanese army soldier during an evacuation mission in the south. The convoy, which was accompanied by Lebanese troops, was hit near the village of Taybeh despite coordination with U.N. peacekeepers. There was no immediate response from the Israeli military regarding the strike. Additionally, a separate Lebanese army post in the southern town of Bint Jbeil was hit by Israeli artillery fire, killing another Lebanese soldier. Lebanese forces retaliated, but the escalation has raised fears of more widespread violence.
A significant escalation also took place in central Beirut, where an Israeli airstrike on an apartment late Wednesday killed nine people, including seven Hezbollah-affiliated civilian first responders. The strike occurred near key government buildings, including the U.N. headquarters, the prime minister’s office, and parliament, without prior warning. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency accused Israel of using phosphorous bombs during the strike, which, if confirmed, could constitute a violation of international law. Residents reported a sulfur-like smell following the strike. Israel has previously been accused of using white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, though the Israeli military maintains that the shells they use containing white phosphorus do not violate international law.
The Israeli military reported that it had targeted around 200 Hezbollah sites in Lebanon on Thursday, including weapons storage facilities and observation posts, resulting in the deaths of at least 15 Hezbollah fighters. Hezbollah, in turn, claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb that detonated when Israeli forces entered the border village of Maroun el-Ras, allegedly killing and wounding several soldiers. Independent verification of these claims has not been possible.
The ongoing conflict has led to massive displacements. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes in southern Lebanon following Israeli warnings to evacuate dozens of towns and villages. The evacuation orders advise civilians to relocate to areas north of the Litani River, creating a buffer well beyond the scope of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. The resolution required Hezbollah militants to withdraw north of the Litani, while Lebanon’s armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers were tasked with patrolling the border region. However, both sides accuse each other of violations, with Israel alleging that Hezbollah has constructed extensive military infrastructure near the border.
Hezbollah’s ongoing rocket attacks, which began last October, have led to nearly a year of hostilities that have displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border. Israeli retaliatory strikes over the past year have killed hundreds of people, including senior Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders. The Lebanese Health Ministry reports that since the fighting began nearly a year ago, over 1,276 people have died, and nearly 9,000 have been wounded in Lebanon alone.
The escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah, which began as part of a broader conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Axis of Resistance, threatens to expand into a wider regional war. Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen—all aligned with Iran—have launched attacks against Israel in recent weeks, leading to retaliatory strikes. The recent Iranian missile attack, which Iran claimed was a response to the assassination of key Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, has heightened fears of a broader conflict.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched two drones targeting Tel Aviv overnight. The Israeli military intercepted one drone while the other fell into the Mediterranean Sea. The incident underscores the volatile nature of the broader conflict, with groups across the region participating in coordinated actions against Israel under the banner of the “Axis of Resistance.”
The region remains on the brink of a wider conflict, particularly following Iran’s missile attack on Tuesday, which it stated was retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general, and Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, who was killed in Tehran in July. The attack lightly wounded two individuals and killed a Palestinian in the West Bank. Both Israel and the United States have warned of “severe consequences” for the attack, with the U.S. bolstering military assets in the region in support of Israel.
In Gaza, the violence continues unabated. On Thursday, the Israeli military announced that it had killed a senior Hamas leader, Rawhi Mushtaha, in an airstrike approximately three months ago. Mushtaha, a close associate of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was killed along with two other Hamas commanders in northern Gaza. There was no immediate response from Hamas, though Sinwar, believed to be in hiding, is thought to be alive.
The past year of escalating conflict between Israel and militant groups backed by Iran has opened multiple fronts, stretching from Gaza to southern Lebanon, and has led to one of the deadliest periods in recent history for the region. As Israeli forces clash with Hezbollah fighters along the Lebanese border and strikes continue in Gaza and Lebanon, fears of a wider regional war remain very real. President Biden, while reaffirming U.S. support for Israel, indicated that he did not expect immediate Israeli retaliation against Iran. “We don’t ‘allow’ Israel; we advise Israel. And nothing’s going to happen today,” Biden said, making it clear that diplomatic efforts are ongoing to prevent a broader conflagration.
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