Israeli army withdraws from Tulkarm in West Bank after 48-hour military operation

The Israeli army withdrew from the city of Tulkarm and its refugee camps in the northern occupied West Bank on Thursday evening following a 48-hour military operation.

Witnesses told Anadolu that the Israeli army pulled out of the city leaving behind four people dead, several injured and significant damage to infrastructure.

They added that Israeli military bulldozers destroyed main roads, vandalized water and sewage networks, knocked down power poles, demolished homes, and damaged vehicles.

The Red Crescent teams entered the Nur Shams refugee camp, accompanied by local residents.

The camp witnessed extensive raids, home demolitions, arrests, and field interrogations over the past two days.

The Israeli army had launched the largest military operation since 2002 in the cities of Tulkarm and Jenin, as well as in the Al Fara refugee camp near Tubas, early Wednesday morning, killing 16 Palestinians, according to Palestinian figures.

The army withdrew from the Al Fara camp early Thursday after a 30-hour operation.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 670 Palestinians have since been killed, nearly 5,400 others injured and over 10,300 arrested in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.