Residents of Nur Shams Camp struggle to save their belongings after Israel announced it would demolish their homes

Israeli authorities have allowed residents of the Nur Shams Camp in Tulkarim to return to the camp to collect their belongings from their homes.

Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the Israeli army planned to demolish 11 houses in the area extending from the camp square to the al-Manshiyya neighborhood under the pretext of building a road.

It was stated that the Israeli army warned Palestinians who had homes in the area to take their belongings.

The owners of the houses targeted by Israel began to move their belongings to neighboring houses.

Speaking to AA, a camp resident in his 30s said, "There is no time, every second counts. I will try to take out every item I can."

The extent of the destruction caused by the Israeli army in the Nur Shams Camp is quite striking.

Burned and destroyed vehicles and completely or partially demolished houses reveal the extent of the destruction carried out by the Israeli army in the camp.

Israeli soldiers stationed in the camp allow residents to carry their belongings along the route they have drawn, but also prevent them from approaching some neighborhoods.

"WE WILL RETURN TO OUR HOMES WHERE THEY FORCED US TO MIGRATE"

Camp resident Haytham Abu al-Hijjah managed to retrieve some basic items and his pet birds from the rubble of his house, which was demolished by Israel.

Speaking to AA, Abu Hija said, "I returned to get some of my belongings and the most important thing was these birds, only nine of them survived."

Regarding the demolition of his house, Abu Hija said, "This camp is not important, it is a temporary stop. It was going to be demolished one day anyway, because we will return to our homes where they forced us to migrate in 1948."

Abu Hija stated that Israel forced them to emigrate from Haifa in 1948 and said, "My family's house is still in Haifa, I will return there. This destruction has no meaning, it will be rebuilt."

Abu Hija's daughter Ala also said, "I was able to save my books and notebooks, which are the most important things for me."

"I FOUND MY HOUSE BURNED DOWN"

"I came to check on my house and found it burnt down. There was nothing left, it was reduced to ashes. We are living in the unknown. The camp has been destroyed," said Hisham Shehade, a resident of the camp.

Şehade's sister Meyser, who lives in the basement of her house, also stated that she lost everything in the fire.

Unable to hold back her tears, Meyser said, "I watched the fire from afar. I returned to the camp to look at my house and take out some of my belongings. Everything burned. My entire house is gone, there is nothing left."

Mehyub Esat said he returned to the camp with his wife to check his house and shop.

"We have been displaced since the beginning of the attacks. We are on the verge of Ramadan, I returned to find something to use for food and other needs," the Palestinian man said.

"Everything in the refrigerator has spoiled and cannot be consumed anymore. Allah is enough for us. The camp is devastated and the fate of nothing is clear," Esat said.

"WE WILL NEVER LEAVE HERE"

Ahmed Alyan, one of the camp residents, said that he returned to the camp for his brother's family, who refused to be forced to migrate.

Pointing to the great destruction in the camp, Alyan said, "I did not see my brother for 16 days. When I returned today, I witnessed this destruction in the neighborhood."

Regarding the Israeli army's attacks, the Palestinian man said, "Our neighbor's house was burned, this one was demolished, our house was turned into a military barracks. They want to expel us from the camp, but we have put down roots here, we will never leave here."

Another camp resident named Abdulkadir Gays said, "I left the camp 10 days ago and returned today. I will never leave my home again, I have no place other than here."

Gays complained, "To whom will I leave my house? Where can I go?"

Following the ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on Sunday, January 19, the Israeli army began its offensive, which it calls the "Iron Wall", on cities and refugee camps in the northern part of the occupied West Bank since January 21.

The Israeli army has been carrying out attacks, raids and assaults on the city and camp of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank for 37 days, on the city and camp of Tulkerim for 31 days, and on the Nur Shams Refugee Camp for 18 days.

In the attacks targeting the cities of Jenin, Tulkerim and Tubas, 62 Palestinians have been killed so far, while tens of thousands have been displaced and large-scale destruction has occurred in the camps.

Palestinian authorities, however, warn that these Israeli attacks are carried out "as part of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to annex the occupied West Bank and assert sovereignty over it."