Israel’s Destructive Attack on Jenin Refugee Camp: 26 January 2023

On 11 May 2022, Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was intentionally targeted and killed by the Israeli occupying forces (IOF) in Jenin, while reporting on their raid on Jenin Refugee Camp.

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On 26 January 2023, the IOF carried out its bloodiest military attack on Jenin Refugee Camp since the Second Intifada—around 500 meters from where Shireen was shot––killing 10 Palestinians and injuring around another 20. This vicious military attack also targeted multiple dimensions of the Camp’s civilian properties and infrastructure.

On this day, starting at around 6:30 a.m., a group of undercover occupation forces raided two adjacent neighbourhoods in Jenin: the camp’s Jurat Al-Dahab residential neighbourhood and the Al-Hawasheen residential neighbourhood.

At Jouret al-Dahab, the IOF were seen making their way south to the Sabbagh family building, while Palestinian students were heading to school.

IOF soldiers used blue plastic bags to mark their movement across the camp and raided these two houses along their way as well.

Meanwhile, another group of Israeli occupying soldiers were seen heading north, surrounding the Sabbagh family building.

Due to the IOF’s practice of denying entry to medical units into the Camp, its Palestinian residents developed volunteer support units who provide medical aid during Israel’s intensive military raids and incursions. At 7:19 am, Abdel Rahman Masharqa, a fire and rescue officer with the Palestinian Civil Defence, was targeted—without warning—with 4 distinct live bullets, 50 meters southwest of the Sabbagh building.

At the time, Abdel Rahman was trying to retrieve the body of Izzedin Salahat, who was subjected to continued fire by the IOF, even after falling to the ground.

CCTV footage shows Abdel Rahman seeking shelter close to a nearby residential building, to escape the continuous shooting. The footage also suggests that the paramedic was deliberately targeted, as part of Israel’s practice of targeting those offering medical aid.

Minutes later, the IOF deployed at Abu Al-Haija's family home targeted a house around the corner from this incident.

The munition launched at the house caused a fire that consumed a significant portion of the third floor, where Al-Quraiynie family, which includes 5 children, resides, endangering their lives.

Video footage obtained by Al-Haq’s Forensic Architecture Investigation Unit (FAI) shows the smoke emanating from the balcony of the building.

Eyewitness testimonies collected by Al-Haq confirm that the IOF raided several residential buildings near the Sabbagh building. The IOF utilised Palestinian houses as sniping positions while the families were in their homes, jeopardizing their safety and putting their lives at risk.

One of the raided apartments is the fourth-floor home of Abu Al-Haija family, which houses two parents and their two- and three-year-old children. Upon raiding the home, the IOF inverted the layout of their home, effectively turning it into a military concealment base.

Within minutes, the IOF rearranged the family’s living room furniture and cut through their windows to enable the launching of missiles from Abu Al-Haija residence to the Sabbagh building, which is located around 40 metres away.

The IOF blindfolded the father, tied his hands, and forced him to stay in the bathroom for around 30 minutes, as they placed the mother and two toddlers in the living room near the two windows where a heavy exchange of fire was occurring, risking the lives of the family.

Abu Al-Haija family members reported to Al-Haq that bullet casings were falling on their heads as the IOF fired from the window. Following the end of the raid, the family gathered over 100 bullet casings from within their home.

Between 7:20-7:30 pm, the IOF surrounded the Sabbagh family building, where six Palestinians were present, launched handheld missiles and fired live bullets at it from two residential buildings used as concealment points. All of this had happened without any warning to the Palestinians inside the building.

We geo-located footage released by IOF which shows another house being used as a concealment point. Footage shows IOF firing anti-armour rockets at Al-Sabagh House.

Another IOF released footage was taken from here.

Photographic evidence highlighting the extensive destruction brought by the IOF on the Sabbagh family building.

By around 9:15 am, Majida Obaid, a 61-year-old grandmother, was fatally shot in the neck and chest. At the time, Majida was looking out of the window of her apartment, located on the fourth-floor apartment, situated 60 meters away from the position of IOF marksmen in Abu Al-Haija family home.

The Israeli occupying authorities claimed that Majida was killed by Palestinian fire and released drone footage showing a group of Palestinians shooting at the IOF from the rooftop of a neighbouring building to the northwest.

Al-Haq’s Forensic Architecture Investigation (FAI) Unit plotted the position of the IOF in Jouret al-Dahab neighbourhood and examined the footage released by the Israeli occupying authorities. Based on our assessment, it appears that Palestinians fired in the opposite direction of Majida’s location, as no IOF were positioned in the direction of Majida’s apartment or the surrounding buildings.

We also established a direct line of sight between the IOF position at Abu Al-Hayja House and the position of Majidah Obaid when she was shot.

Meanwhile, at around 8:00 a.m., 25-year old Sa’eb Zreyqie was shot in the chest 40 metres east of the entrance of the camp’s social club. Footage obtained by Al-Haq’s FAI Unit shows paramedics providing medical help before transferring Sa’eb to Ibn Sina Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The footage also shows an IOF jeep blocking the path of an ambulance that was heading toward Sa’eb’s location. Interviews with paramedics revealed that medical workers had to walk more than 10 minutes before handing Sa’eb to an ambulance.

Fifteen minutes later, at 8:15 a.m. the IOF breaks into the social club of the camp. The army’s bulldozer destroyed the yard in front of the club and vandalised the cars that were parked there.

Fayez Matahen was sitting in his car when the IOF bulldozer flipped it upside down multiple times.

Around 180 metres east of Jurat Al-Dahab, the Al-Hawasheen residential neighbourhood was raided by the IOF at around 8:00 am.

Following the same pattern of destruction, soldiers broke into several family homes in the area and deployed marksmen in their windows.

By 8:10 a.m., 16 year old Waseem Abu Ja’as was shot here by the army

Further Reading

By 8:50 a.m., 17-year old Abdullah Musa was shot in the chest while in the same area. Medical aid to Abdullah was also delayed by around 15 minutes.

By 9:00 a.m., the IOF reportedly targeted the camp’s electricity generators cutting the current and the internet off to the entire camp and its surroundings, including to Jenin’s Government Hospital.

Fifteen minutes later, as IOF fired tear gas canisters in the vicinity of the hospital, panic-stricken parents were seen evacuating with their sick children from the Pediatric Ward.

The IOF began to retreat by 10:00 p.m. At this time, 36-year old Mutasem Abu Hasan was shot in front of Jenin’s Government Hospital while throwing stones at a bulletproof IOF vehicle positioned around seventy metres from him.

Here IOF jeeps were seen retreating towards the city's main road.

The killing of ten Palestinians, including two children, and the destruction of civilian properties and infrastructure over the course of the 3-hour hyper-militarised attack on a densely-populated area, may amount to a war crime.

These raids are ongoing. They are a consequence of Israel’s illegal occupation and settler-colonial apartheid regime, and the ongoing denial of Palestinian refugees of their right to return.