Ten months after the Israeli military launched Operation Iron Wall in the northern West Bank, the scars of displacement and destruction linger for tens of thousands of Palestinians. The January 2025 operation, which targeted the Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams refugee camps, has left more than 30,000 residents unable to return home, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The situation has spiraled into what humanitarian organizations describe as a dire health and mental health crisis, while legal experts and human rights advocates warn of violations of international law and possible crimes against humanity.
The scale of the displacement is historic. UNRWA described the evacuation as “the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since the 1967 war,” with the initial number of displaced estimated at 40,000. The Israeli military said its aim was to dismantle armed Palestinian groups operating in the camps, but the consequences for civilians have been devastating. As of mid-November 2025, the camps remain empty, their populations scattered, and the right of return fiercely contested.
Residents’ stories convey the trauma of being uprooted with little warning or support. Nadim M., a 60-year-old father of four from Tulkarem, recounted to Human Rights Watch: “The soldiers came and told us to leave. No one told us where to go, just to get out of the camp. My fear is that what happened in 1948 will happen to us here. I have an inner belief that we won’t be able to come back ever.” Many, like Nadim, found temporary refuge in mosques or with relatives, but the uncertainty and lack of adequate shelter have compounded their distress.
The operation unfolded rapidly. On January 21, 2025, just two days after a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli forces launched a massive raid on Jenin refugee camp, deploying Apache helicopters, drones, bulldozers, and armored vehicles. Similar tactics were used in Tulkarem on January 27 and Nur Shams on February 9. Residents described being forced from their homes amid gunfire, explosions, and the demolition of infrastructure. In one tragic incident during the Nur Shams raid, Israeli forces detonated an explosive device at a family home, killing 21-year-old Rahaf al-Ashqar and injuring her father.
The humanitarian fallout has been severe. Saman Perera, project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Jenin and Tulkarem, highlighted the scale of the crisis: “The biggest issue we responded to, especially at the very beginning of the displacement, was the lack of primary care. The second aspect is mental health. Repeated exposure to violence, displacement, separations from families, arrests, detentions, combined with loss of housing, loss of dignity, loss of a sense of future purpose, lack of privacy, strangers having to share bedrooms … This had a huge mental health impact. I would describe it as a mental health crisis.”
MSF has seen about 12,000 patients in primary care this year alone and conducted 1,500 individual mental health sessions, with half of those seeking help due to distress related to violence and insecurity. Perera noted, “This population that we serve feels forgotten.” Many displaced people are living in makeshift accommodations, such as university dorms converted for emergency use or unfinished buildings with poor hygiene and sanitation. In Tulkarem, the municipality has struggled to meet the basic needs of the influx, with water and sanitation systems stretched to the brink.
International human rights organizations have raised grave concerns about the legality and conduct of Operation Iron Wall. Human Rights Watch, after interviewing 31 displaced residents and analyzing satellite imagery, concluded that Israeli forces committed forcible displacement in violation of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The organization’s report noted that Israeli forces failed to provide safe evacuation routes, adequate shelter, or humanitarian assistance to those forced from the camps. Residents described being given abrupt orders to leave, sometimes via loudspeakers mounted on drones, and fleeing under the watch of heavily armed soldiers and drones tracking their movements.
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the occupying power is prohibited from displacing the protected population except temporarily in exceptional circumstances, such as imperative military reasons or to ensure civilian safety. Even then, the law requires safe evacuation, access to food and shelter, and a right to return once hostilities have ceased. Human Rights Watch found that these standards were not met. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) echoed these concerns in its October 22, 2025 advisory opinion, stating that Israel “remains bound by these obligations and is required to comply with them.”
The destruction wrought by the operation is extensive. Over 850 homes and buildings have been demolished across the three camps since January, according to Human Rights Watch. Satellite imagery and on-the-ground reports confirmed widespread razing of civilian infrastructure, with Israeli military vehicles, bulldozers, and excavators reshaping the landscape. Authorities have blocked all entrances to the camps, installed barriers, and established military positions, further preventing residents’ return.
For those displaced, the sense of loss is profound—not just of homes, but of community, dignity, and hope for the future. Protests have erupted in recent weeks, with residents of Nur Shams camp holding banners reading, “We want to return to the camp,” and “No to forced displacement.” On November 5, dozens marched peacefully towards an Israeli roadblock, only to be dispersed by soldiers. During another protest on November 18, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces shot and injured a cameraman and a child.
The political context is fraught. In October, the Israeli parliament passed a symbolic preliminary vote supporting the annexation of the West Bank. In August, a major settlement project was approved, despite international warnings that such moves undermine prospects for a future Palestinian state. The UN humanitarian office reported that Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank reached a record high in October 2025, with more incidents than any month since 2006.
Israeli officials have justified the operation as necessary to root out militants and restore security. In response to Human Rights Watch, the Israeli military stated that “terrorists exploit the terrain and the densely built environment of the camps, which restricts the IDF’s freedom of action,” and that Hamas plants explosive devices in civilian infrastructure, endangering both security forces and residents. However, the military did not explain why the displacement of entire camp populations was necessary or whether alternatives were considered.
On the other side, humanitarian agencies and rights advocates argue that the ongoing displacement and destruction amount to a policy of erasing the “refugee question” by removing Palestinians from the camps and denying their right of return. Roland Friedrich, director of West Bank affairs for UNRWA, warned, “The reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank.”
As the world’s attention has shifted to the ceasefire in Gaza, UNRWA has urged the international community not to overlook the crisis in the West Bank. “The future of Gaza and West Bank are one. A drawdown in Gaza should not become an opportunity to tighten the grip of occupation elsewhere,” Friedrich emphasized.
For now, the fate of over 30,000 displaced West Bank residents hangs in the balance, their lives upended and their hopes for return growing dimmer with each passing month. The crisis stands as a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict and the urgent need for accountability and humanitarian action.