Jenin: A City Under Systematic Erasure

IOF Tanks in Jenin (IMEMC)

Reposted from IMEMC News, November 12, 2025

For nearly ten consecutive months, the Israeli occupation army has waged an unrelenting offensive against the city of Jenin and its refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank’s transforming a once-crowded urban center into a zone of devastation and forced displacement.

The offensive, in its 295^th day on Tuesday (November 11), has escalated into a full-scale siege, with all four main entrances to the city sealed off by earth mounds and military roadblocks.

Drones hover overhead, broadcasting evacuation orders through loudspeakers, while armored vehicles patrol the streets, enforcing curfews and obstructing movement.

On November 11, Israeli forces stormed Nablus Street in Jenin city, obstructing traffic, interrogating drivers, and inspecting identity documents.

Simultaneously, troops invaded a home in the town of al-Yamun, west of Jenin, continuing a pattern of daily incursions and home invasions across the governorate.

The humanitarian toll is staggering. Nearly 90 percent of the Jenin refugee camp’s population—over 22,000 people—has been displaced.

More than 600 homes have been completely demolished, amounting to the destruction of roughly one-third of the camp’s housing.

Bulldozers have carved through the refugee camp’s narrow alleys, tearing up roads and infrastructure, including those leading to Jenin Government Hospital.

The Jenin governmental hospital has been encircled, its access routes blocked, and its staff operating under siege conditions.

Medical teams report power outages, fuel shortages, and direct targeting of ambulances and rescue workers. In several incidents, civilians and medics attempting to reach the wounded were fired upon.

The Israeli military has turned homes into makeshift outposts, evicting families and using rooftops for sniper positions.

Daily invasions extend beyond the refugee camp into surrounding towns such as al-Yamun, Ya’bad, and Kafr Ra’i, where homes are stormed and residents subjected to interrogation and abduction.

In the past few weeks alone, dozens have been abducted, and at least 25 Palestinians have been killed in Jenin and neighboring areas. The total death toll since the beginning of the offensive stands at 56, with over 200 injured.

Roads are not merely blocked—they are erased. Homes are not just searched—they are leveled. The refugee camp, once a symbol of resilience, now lies in ruins, its residents scattered, its streets unrecognizable.

This onslaught is not an isolated episode but part of a broader escalation across the occupied West Bank. Simultaneous invasions have struck Nablus, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Hebron, and Qalqilia.

On Tuesday evening (November 11), a Palestinian child died of injuries he sustained four weeks ago when Israeli forces attacked olive pickers in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.

Media sources reported that the child, Aysam Jihad Ma’alla, 13, died on November 11, after spending a number of weeks in a coma.

Human rights groups warn that what is unfolding in Jenin is not merely a military offensive. It is a systematic erasure of a place and its people, carried out under the pretext of security but executed with a disregard for international law and human life.

The silence of the international community, in the face of such sustained brutality, deepens the wound. Jenin is not just under siege—it is being erased.

Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces and colonizers have killed 236 Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, including 46 children and 7 women.

Occupation forces and illegal paramilitary colonizers have killed 80 Palestinians in Jenin, 42 in Nablus, 30 in Tubas, 20 in Hebron, 19 in Ramallah, 17 in Tulkarem, 9 in Bethlehem, 9 in Jerusalem, 6 in Qalqilia, 3 in Salfit, and 1 in Jericho, in 2025.

In photos: The ongoing Nakba of Jenin refugee camp

Jenin refugee camp was completely emptied of its residents during Israel’s ethnic cleansing operation earlier this year. These are photos of life in the camp before its most recent Nakba.

By David Lombeida, Reposted from Mondoweiss, November 11, 2025

While the future of Gaza remains uncertain with a ceasefire on the verge of collapsing, the West Bank has been undergoing a radical and violent transformation over the last two years. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied territory since October 7, 2023. These deaths have been accompanied by record numbers of settler violence, demolitions, and military operations, a reality that has plunged the West Bank into crisis. Known for the strong presence of its armed fighters, the camp has been a historic symbol of resistance for Palestinians in the West Bank. But the refugee camp is currently completely occupied by the Israeli army, where mass demolitions are taking place.

In January, the Israeli army launched “Operation Iron Wall” in the Jenin refugee camp in order to combat Palestinian fighters in what the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has described as “by far the longest and most destructive operation in the occupied West Bank since the second intifada in the 2000s.”

The military operation then expanded into Nur Shams and Tulkarem camps, among other cities. In a recent report titled “Five Months After Iron Wall” by Doctors Without Borders, project coordinator Simona Onidi describes the situation as “not just a humanitarian emergency,” but “a man-made crisis, prolonged by design.” The operation has resulted in the forcible displacement of over 42,000 people from their homes in the northern West Bank’s refugee camps, the greatest single period of mass expulsion the West Bank has seen since the 1967 War.

I made several reporting trips to Jenin before the start of Operation Iron Wall. The images show the realities of living in Jenin: homes destroyed, resistance fighters, injured civilians, and residents mourning the loss of loved ones. Palestinians from Jenin are currently unable to return to the camp. People find themselves living in mosques, community centers outside the camp, and throughout the West Bank, as they wait to see when they can return home. The images are a glimpse of what life was like in the camp before it was completely occupied and its residents displaced.

A view of Jenin refugee camp in October 2024. The refugee camp is known as a symbol of resistance in the West Bank and home to several armed groups. With several militias operating in the camp, Jenin was often subjected to heavy raids by the Israeli army, with drone and airstrikes occurring frequently. Posters of resistance fighters killed in Jenin can be seen on a wall in Jenin refugee camp. Many walls are covered in bullet holes from raids. Israeli soldiers also deface posters of fighters when they occupy the camp. (Photo: David Lombeida) (PHOTO BY JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES)

Amira Ararawi cleans the wound of her nephew, Kemal, in Jenin refugee camp. In the summer of 2023, Kemal went to help his cousin, Amira’s son, Majdy Ararawi, who was shot outside their home in the camp during a raid by the Israeli army. As Kemal approached Majdy, attempting to attend to his cousin’s wounds, an Israeli sniper shot Kemal through the side of his head, and the bullet entered his cousin’s neck, killing Madjy and blinding Kemal for life. Kemal survived the gunshot but is now blind in both eyes, and currently studying to be an Imam (Photo: David Lombeida)

During a 10-day raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the summer of 2024, Israeli soldiers used Alaa Pwaqneh's family home as a base for their military operations. While the family was forced to remain in one room, the army climbed to the upper floor and dug a hole in the bathroom wall for a sniper to use. Alaa poses for a portrait where the sniper hole was used in her home. On November 9, Tamam Mar’i was in the house with her son, daughter-in-law and their two children when the army invaded Jenin. Her husband was out buying groceries when the army came, and couldn’t return home. The army, looking for armed militants, bombed their home with a rocket launcher, and the family entered the back room, hoping to not be killed from that blast. Tamam finally went outside to explain to the army that no militants are inside her home. The army escorted all the family outside, handcuffed her son, and bombed her home again. Tamam and her husband pose for a portrait in their destroyed home. (Photo: David Lombeida) — During a 10-day raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the summer of 2024, Israeli soldiers used Alaa Pwaqneh’s family home as a base for their military operations. While the family was forced to remain in one room, the army climbed to the upper floor and dug a hole in the bathroom wall for a sniper to use. Alaa poses for a portrait where the sniper hole was used in her home. On November 9, Tamam Mar’i was in the house with her son, daughter-in-law and their two children when the army invaded Jenin. Her husband was out buying groceries when the army came, and couldn’t return home. The army, looking for armed militants, bombed their home with a rocket launcher, and the family entered the back room, hoping to not be killed from that blast. Tamam finally went outside to explain to the army that no militants are inside her home. The army escorted all the family outside, handcuffed her son, and bombed her home again. Tamam and her husband pose for a portrait in their destroyed home. (Photo: David Lombeida)

On November 9, Tamam Mar’i was in the house with her son, daughter-in-law and their two children when the army invaded Jenin. Her husband was out buying groceries when the army came, and couldn’t return home. The army, looking for armed militants, bombed their home with a rocket launcher, and the family entered the back room, hoping to not be killed from that blast. Tamam finally went outside to explain to the army that no militants are inside her home. The army escorted all the family outside, handcuffed her son, and bombed her home again. Tamam and her husband pose for a portrait in their destroyed home. (Photo: David Lombeida)

A commander of one of Jenin's resistance groups poses for a portrait at the camp. He preferred to keep his identity hidden for security reasons. (Photo: David Lombeida) — A commander of one of Jenin’s resistance groups poses for a portrait at the camp. He preferred to keep his identity hidden for security reasons. (Photo: David Lombeida)

From a raid in 2024 by the Israeli army, Soldiers occupied Amira Araraw’s home and used the walls to write schedules for the operations. (Photo: David Lombeida)

Posters of resistance fighters killed in Jenin can be seen on a wall in Jenin refugee camp. Many walls are covered in bullet holes from raids in Jenin refugee camp. Israeli soldiers also deface posters of fighters when they occupy the camp. (Photo: David Lombeida)

A vehicle drives through the narrow alleys of the Jenin refugee camp. As the camp's population grew, residents began building on top of their own homes for their families. Many of the homes in Jenin are self-built, creating a unique environment of small alleys and overlapping structures. Black tarps are placed between the houses to deter drone attacks, as the Israeli army routinely attacks the camps to target militants. Posters of resistance fighters killed in Jenin can be seen on a wall in Jenin refugee camp. Many walls are covered in bullet holes from raids in Jenin refugee camp. Israeli soldiers also deface posters of fighters when they occupy the camp. (Photo: David Lombeida) — A vehicle drives through the narrow alleys of the Jenin refugee camp. As the camp’s population grew, residents began building on top of their own homes for their families. Many of the homes in Jenin are self-built, creating a unique environment of small alleys and overlapping structures. Black tarps are placed between the houses to deter drone attacks, as the Israeli army routinely attacks the camps to target militants. Posters of resistance fighters killed in Jenin can be seen on a wall in Jenin refugee camp. Many walls are covered in bullet holes from raids in Jenin refugee camp. Israeli soldiers also deface posters of fighters when they occupy the camp. (Photo: David Lombeida)

Young boys can be seen with resistance fighters in Jenin refugee camp. (Photo: David Lombeida)

A resistance fighter poses for a portrait with his weapon, the magazine of which bears a sticker of a former fighter killed in Jenin. It is common for militants to mark their weapons with images of fallen resistance fighters and comrades. (Photo: David Lombeida)

A Jenin resident mourns the loss of her son, who was killed in November 2023 in Jenin refugee camp during an Israeli army raid. There is a martyrs' cemetery in Jenin, but it has recently become completely filled due to intensified clashes with the Israeli army. A new cemetery is being built on open ground near the camp, where a mother and son mourn their loved one. (Photo: David Lombeida) — A Jenin resident mourns the loss of her son, who was killed in November 2023 in Jenin refugee camp during an Israeli army raid. There is a martyrs’ cemetery in Jenin, but it has recently become completely filled due to intensified clashes with the Israeli army. A new cemetery is being built on open ground near the camp, where a mother and son mourn their loved one. (Photo: David Lombeida)

A child rides his bicycle through Jenin refugee camp. (Photo: David Lombeida)

David Lombeida is an independent photographer and filmmaker currently based in Istanbul, documenting the effects of conflict, migration, and surviving trauma.