Ghost Town: 70% of Jabalia Homes Reduced to Rubble

Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza has become a “ghost town” due to Israel’s relentless attacks, with 70 percent of the camp’s buildings completely destroyed, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Haaretz, which briefly had access to the camp in besieged northern Gaza, said in a report on Sunday that the number is an estimate by the Israeli army.

None of the army’s other operations in Lebanon and other parts of Gaza “can compare, in the scale of the destruction, to what has happened over the last two and a half months” in the camps.

“As far as the eye can see lie miles and miles of destroyed homes. It’s hard to look away from the devastated remains of Jabalia’s refugee camp in northern Gaza,” Amos Harel, a military affairs analyst, wrote in Haaretz.

“I could see that even the few buildings that are still standing were badly damaged,” Harel said.

“The IDF (army) operated here twice before, in December 2023 and May 2024. But this time, the camp was taken apart,” Amos said.

“Jabalia has become a ghost town. Outside, you mainly see pack after pack of stray dogs roaming around and hunting for scraps of food.”

According to the army’s data, quoted by Haaretz, some 96,000 Palestinian civilians were forcibly displaced from the densely populated camp during the military’s operation.

Haaretz added, citing the army, that more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and roughly 1,500 have been arrested in the camp over the same period.

The army claims most of the people killed in the camp were armed, the report also said according to the Quds News Network.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Israeli Army, Settlers Trap Three Palestinian Families in Their Homes for 11 Days

CROSSFIREARABIA — Three Palestinian families, comprising 13 people, have remained trapped in their homes for 11 days in the town of Qusra in the occupied West Bank, amid an ongoing siege by Israeli forces and settlers.

The families have been confined to their homes in the Ras Al-Ain area since 9 August, with their access to food, water and other basic necessities severely restricted.

Israeli forces have declared the area a closed military zone, while settlers have established a presence around the properties. Local residents fear the move is intended to force the families from their homes and pave the way for the establishment of a new settlement outpost on their land.

Qusra Mayor Abdul Azim Al-Wadi said Israeli soldiers and settlers continue to surround the homes, preventing the families from moving freely.

“The three families are facing difficult conditions due to the continued siege and restrictions on their movement,” Al-Wadi said.

According to reports, Israeli soldiers also entered one of the Palestinian homes and turned it into a military position, while settlers erected tents around the properties, further restricting the residents’ ability to leave.

The standoff has heightened fears among residents that the families are being subjected to sustained pressure to abandon their homes and land.

Qusra, south of Nablus, has repeatedly been the scene of confrontations and settler attacks, reflecting the growing tensions facing Palestinian communities in parts of the occupied West Bank. For further details, see The Palestine Chronicle.

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