Inside the sealed-off Jenin refugee camp, residents share snippets of information through the Israeli phone network. One resident, speaking anonymously, describes the fear of venturing onto rooftops for fear of being shot. The camp, now a ghost town with empty streets, houses mostly the elderly and children. Young people fled before the Israeli army’s arrival, leaving those who couldn’t escape to endure the siege.
Jenin, the center of today’s news, has been living in a blackout. The Palestinian phone network was down for much of the day, cut off by the ongoing military operation. Despite this, some essentials remain, with water, electricity, and a small shop open under the constant watch of military drones.
Gunshots echo sporadically over the rooftops, the sound of drones intensifying. An armored bulldozer approaches one of the camp’s main entrances, the road eerily quiet under the afternoon sun. For a brief period last night, explosions and gunfire shattered the silence, but since then, the neighborhood has been unusually quiet, with no signs of house-to-house searches or fighters.
The camp has been sealed off since before dawn on Wednesday as part of a larger coordinated operation across the occupied West Bank. Jenin camp is home to both armed Palestinian fighters and unarmed civilians, with fierce battles erupting here in recent months during repeated Israeli raids.
Army vehicles surround two of Jenin’s main hospitals, stopping ambulances and forcing them to show who or what is inside. The city’s commercial districts are deserted, with rotting fruit and empty streets bearing witness to the siege. A small grocery shop remains open, offering a lifeline to those who can reach it.
Thaeer Shana’at is trying to stock up on food for families in the eastern neighborhood, which is sealed off by Israeli forces. Only ambulances can deliver supplies, and any attempt to enter is met with gunfire. Shana’at’s wife and baby remain trapped in the camp, too scared to open the door due to a sniper stationed outside their home.
Munir Garwan, a former member of Fatah and ex-prisoner, waits to buy food. He reflects on the ongoing conflict, stating, “The occupation claims it is trying to stop terrorism. But when the young men get killed, new ones take their place. They are getting nowhere like that.” As night falls, the sounds of explosions and gunfire return, and communication networks slowly resume, bringing with them grim updates of the ongoing incursion and casualties.
The news blackout in Jenin may be ending, but for those trapped inside, the grim reality remains unchanged.