| Operation Summer Camps מבצע מחנות קיץ | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theIsraeli incursions in the West Bank during the Gaza war and theMiddle Eastern crisis (2023–present) | |||||||
 IDF soldiers of the Kfir Brigade participate in a West Bank raid during "Operation Summer Camps", September 2024. Graffiti depicting the Palestinian flag is visible in the background. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Israel Palestinian Authority |
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| Units involved | |||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 2 IDF soldiers killed,[14][15][12] 4 wounded[12][13] 3 police officers killed[16] 3 settlers killed,[17] 3 wounded[18] 2+ armoured vehicles damaged[19] | At least 25 insurgents killed[20][21][22][23] Per Israel:[24][25][26] 23+ insurgents killed 30+ suspected insurgents arrested | ||||||
| At least 59 Palestinians killed, (including a woman, a disabled person, aUNRWA staff member, two elderly people and several children)[b][28][29][30][31][32] 1foreign activist killed At least 150 wounded[33] | |||||||
On 28 August 2024,Israel launched a large-scalemilitary operation in theoccupied West Bank.[34][35][36]
It was Israel's largest military operation in the West Bank in more than 20 years since itsOperation Defensive Shield in 2002,[37] and marked a significant escalation of the continualIsraeli incursions into the region againstPalestinian militants during the ongoingGaza war. Israel called it "OperationSummer Camps" (Hebrew:מבצע מחנות קיץ),[38][39][40] while Palestinian militants labeled their response as the "Horror of the Camps" (Arabic:رعب المخيمات) operation.[41][42][43]
Israel said its goal was to stop Palestinian militant activity in the West Bank, whereas Palestinians felt that the operation could be an expansion of the war aimed at their displacement.[44] Israel also said the raids were aimed to thwartPalestinian suicide bombings, following a failed attempt inTel Aviv.[45]
Israel's military operation occurred asIsraeli settler violence targeting Palestinian infrastructure and civilians in the West Bank has surged.[35] More than 650 Palestinians in the West Bank, including both gunmen and civilians, were killed since the Hamas-ledOctober 7 attacks, which began the ongoing war, while 27 Israelis, including both civilians and security forces, were killed in Palestinian attacks within Israel and the West Bank.[45][46][47]
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Arabic spokesmanAvichay Adraee announced acounterterrorism operation called "Summer Camps" in a joint statement with theShin Bet.[48][49] Israeli foreign ministerIsrael Katz stated that the operation was a "full-fledged war" focused on stamping out "terrorist infrastructures", accusingIran of trying to establish an "eastern terrorist front" against Israel in the West Bank by funding and arming local militants.[37][50] The Israeli operation came about following a failedsuicide bombing in Tel Aviv by a Hamas operative, and calls by Hamas for the renewal ofsuicide attacks.[45][improper synthesis?]
Hundreds of troops from the IDF,[48][51] as well asbulldozers andair support, began operating in Tulkarm and Jenin.[36] Operations were also reported in al-Fara'a refugee camp, nearTubas. Entry points into Tulkarm and Jenin were blocked off by the IDF, which also encircled two hospitals in Tulkarm.[36]
The IDF killed Muhammad Jabber, known asAbu Shujaa, who led theTulkarm Brigade, based inNur Shams. He was wanted by Israel for his involvement in planning and executing multiple attacks against Israeli targets, including the June 2024 shooting of an Israeli civilian.[52][35]
Hamas andPalestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Tulkarm and Jenin targeted IDF troops operating in these cities with ambushes and explosives.
The IDF withdrew from the al-Fara'a refugee camp, claiming they completed "the objective of foiling terror, exposing terrorist infrastructure and eliminating armed terrorists".[53]
Israeli Border Police forces killed Wassem Hazem, the head of Hamas in Jenin, near the town ofZababdeh.[53][54] TheJenin Brigades reported "fierce clashes" with Israeli soldiers inside Jenin.[55]
Theal-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades[56] used two car bombs to attack Israeli settlements nearHebron.[57]
The IDF announced that a squad commander of theBislamach Brigade's 906th Battalion was killed and three others were injured during a shootout with two Hamas fighters in Jenin. Both militants were also killed.[12]
The family of a 10-year-old girl accused the IDF of using her as a human shield.[58]
Three Israeli police officers were shot dead by a gunman fromHebron close toTarqumiyah checkpoint onroute 35 in theHebron Governorate of Palestine.[59][60][61][62][63][64] TheKhalil al-Rahman Brigade claimed responsibility for the shooting, which was praised byHamas.[65]
A Palestinian girl, Lujain Musleh, aged 16, was reportedly shot dead by the Israeli military inKafr Dan when she looked out of her home's window; the Israeli military responded that "terrorists opened fire at IDF soldiers in the area, and in response the soldiers fired back at a suspect who observed the forces in the area, in order to remove a threat".[66]
The IDF withdrew from Jenin, Tulkarm, and their refugee camps.[67][68][69] Following the Israeli withdrawal from Jenin, militants were seen parading through the city.[70]
There was speculation that the withdrawals signified the operation had concluded, but Israel clarified that it was not over and that its forces would continue military actions "in order to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation".[68][71][72]
It was reported that thePalestinian Authority (PA) agreed to a new security deal with Israel that would see itsNational Security Forces working alongside the IDF in the West Bank to counter militancy when the Israeli operation concludes.[73][74]
Clashes broke out between militants and PA security forces in the Jenin refugee camp after the latter dismantled an explosive intended to target IDF vehicles near the camp entrance.[74][75]
The IDF returned to operate inside Tulkarm and its surrounding refugee camps.[76][77][78]
An Israeli airstrike near Tubas killed five people.[79]
A Palestinian militant carried out a ramming attack near theGivat Asaf settlement, killing one IDF soldier.[80]
The IDF withdrew from Tulkarm.[81]
The IDF killed 10 people during a raid into al-Fara'a camp, including a UNRWA worker whom Israel accused of participating in Palestinian militancy.[82]
The IDF battled Palestinian militias inQabatiya, where it also conducted an airstrike that killed four militants, including Shadi Zakarneh, a local commander.[83][84] Soldiers were seen kicking and throwing the corpses of dead militants off a rooftop in the city.[85]
Theal-Quds Brigades of PIJ targeted theShaked settlement with gunfire.[84]
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades targeted an IDF checkpoint atMount Ebal with gunfire.[86]
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades targeted an IDF checkpoint atMount Gerzim with gunfire.[86]
The IDF resumed operations inside Jenin.[87]
The IDF conducted a situational assessment in the West Bank to review how to prevent attacks from Palestinian militants ahead of upcomingJewish holidays.[88]
InBalata Camp outsideNablus, four IDF soldiers, including one from the eliteDuvdevan Unit, were wounded during an exchange of fire with militants.[89][90]
An Israeli airstrike on a café in the Tulkarm refugee camp killed at least 20 people, including Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi and Ayyth Radwan, the heads of the local Hamas and PIJ branches, respectively. It was the first Israeli strike on Tulkarm since 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield.[91] Several civilians including elderly and children were killed in the airstrike, which was the deadliest since theSecond Intifada of 2000–2005.[92][93] Laith Jaar, anAl Jazeera journalist who was covering the bombing was assaulted by a PA security officer, who threatened to shoot him. Jaar was subsequently arrested and detained by the PA security forces,[94][95] but was released the next day.[96]
An Israeli airstrike on a building in theTulkarm refugee camp killed 12 Hamas and PIJ members who had gathered to plan an attack against Israel.[97]
The operation did not deal a substantial blow to Palestinian militancy. In December 2024,Yoni Ben Menachem, writing for theJerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, stated that Operation Summer Camps had "failed to dismantle the terror infrastructure in northernSamaria,[c] as most militants fled to rural areas".[98] Similarly, Yaakov Lappin, writing forJewish News Syndicate in January 2025, described the operation as one of many Israeli operations throughout the years that had failed to "[offer] any real solution".[99]
UN secretary generalAntónio Guterres, called for Israel to end its operations in the West Bank.[45] UN secretary general spokesman said Israel should "exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable to protect life."[45] In a social media post, theUN Human Rights Office stated it was "appalled" by reports that Israel had "shot and unlawfully killed" three children in Jenin.[100]
The Israeli ambassador to the UN responded by saying that Israel will not wait for suicide bombings, adding that bombs were being smuggled inby Iran.[45] The United States called for Israel to protect civilians in the West Bank during its operations, and recognized Israeli security reasoning for the operation.[45]
Hamas called for Palestinians in the West Bank to rise up and blamed the escalation onUnited States support for Israel. It also called on the Palestinian Authority's security forces to join the fighting against Israel.
The Palestinian Authority condemned the operation despite its own cooperation with Israel, and called on the United States to intervene.[101]
In late-September 2024, theInternational Rescue Committee warned that intensifying violence in the West Bank could obstruct the healthcare system.[102]
... the Israeli military is undertaking the largest counter-terrorism operation in the West Bank since the Second Intifada, dubbed Operation Summer Camps.
The aerial attack is part of 'Operation Summer Camps', which Israel launched last August to crush on armed resistance groups and brigades in the occupied West Bank.
... the operation does not appear as large as the late-August 2024 Operation Summer Camps in the northern West Bank that targeted Palestinian militia infrastructure across several governorates.
... 'Operation Summer Camps', Israel's large-scale military operation between August and October.
The Israeli military fired live bullets during clashes with Palestinian resistance groups, wounding four men and killing one of them, according to Wafa.
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{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)We reported yesterday that Israeli forces killed at least seven Palestinians in a raid on the town of Qabatiya in the occupied West Bank, with video footage showing soldiers pushing what appeared to be dead bodies off a rooftop. The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) says five of its fighters were among the dead: Ahmed Maher Zakarneh, 28, Mustafa Faisal Zakarneh, 23, Omar Hamza Abu Al-Rub, 24, Muhammad Khaled Abu Al-Rub, 28, Fadi Jawdat Hanaysha, 27.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad say at least 14 of the dead were members of their armed wings.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Israel says the military aircraft targeted Palestinian fighters who "posed a threat" to their forces in Tubas.
The Israeli army has released a statement saying it killed 14 "terrorists" and arrested more than 30 "suspects" in Jenin, during a siege that lasted 10 days.
One woman killed in Nablus
Ahmed Omar Azqili, 43, has died due to critical wounds he sustained from Israeli gunfire in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin about a month ago, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)At least 19 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli operation, which is one of the biggest in the West Bank in two decades, according to the Palestinian health ministry. But the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) said children and one person with disabilities were reportedly among the dead.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)At least 150 people have been wounded, it said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry says over 650 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the start of the war. Most appear to have been militants killed in gunbattles during Israeli operations like the one this week, but civilian bystanders and rock-throwing protesters have also been killed, and the territory saw a surge of Jewish settler violence.
In the first three weeks of August, according to UN figures, 128 Palestinians, including 26 children, were killed by airstrikes in the West Bank. A spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, Ravina Shamdasani, said that the IDF operations risked "seriously deepening the already catastrophic situation", and that two of the dead were reportedly children, bringing the overall death toll in the West Bank since 7 October to 637.
The Israeli military said its forces killed the commander of the Tulkarem Battalion, Mohamed Jaber, also known as Abu Shuja'a, and four other Palestinian fighters in a firefight in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
