Israeli Forces Launch Large-Scale Raid on Qalandiya Refugee Camp, Injuring at Least 51 Palestinians

Israeli forces launched a large-scale operation in the Qalandiya refugee camp and the nearby town of Kafr Aqab north of occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday, and the raid left at least 51 Palestinians injured, according to the Jerusalem Governorate and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

“late Thursday after a nearly two-day military raid that left 51 Palestinians injured”

The Express Tribune

The Express Tribune said the Israeli army withdrew from the Qalandia refugee camp late Thursday after a nearly two-day military raid that left 51 Palestinians injured, while the Jerusalem Governorate said Israeli forces pulled out after raids, searches and detentions.

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported that the “large-scale” Israeli raid in the Qalandiya refugee camp injured at least 51 Palestinians, and said Israeli forces demolished commercial shops near the Qalandiya checkpoint on Thursday before imposing a curfew on Kafr Aqab and sealing off roads linking the area to Jerusalem.

The raid also involved beatings and medical access problems, with PRCS saying 35 people were hospitalised after severe beatings and that its ambulance crews had been blocked from reaching the wounded since late at night on Wednesday, though crews still managed to evacuate several patients including people requiring kidney dialysis.

Palestinian authorities accused Israel of seeking to establish military control in the area, while Haaretz said the Palestinian Authority reported 51 people were treated for injuries during the operation and that Israel said the raid targeted “terrorist elements” and weapons trafficking.

The Express Tribune reported that the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said Israeli forces detained or subjected more than 60 Palestinians, including women and children, to field interrogation during the nearly two-day operation.

Anadolu Ajansı

Al Jazeera said Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades at journalists stationed at the camp’s entrance and ordered them to leave, and it reported that dozens of Palestinians, including children and women, were detained for field interrogations inside homes converted into makeshift holding sites.

In the same account, Al Jazeera reported that Israeli forces also raided the city of Jenin on Thursday, shooting one Palestinian and assaulting another, according to PRCS, as it described the raid as part of intensified Israeli army attacks and settler violence across the occupied West Bank.

Beyond the Qalandia camp itself, multiple outlets tied the raid to pressure on UNRWA facilities, with La Silla Rota saying the operation reached the facilities of UNRWA's Vocational Training Center and left at least two people injured while Palestinian authorities denounced arrests and forced evacuations.

“reached the facilities of UNRWA's Vocational Training Center”

La Silla Rota

La Silla Rota reported that the Israeli Army justified the operation as a “selective operational activity” planned in advance, and said the IDF version described the objective as disrupting terrorist activities and detaining wanted individuals.

Diario Público said Israeli troops entered the Qalandia Training Center (KTC) vocational training facilities established in 1949, and it reported that UNRWA’s director in the West Bank, Roland Friedrich, told EFE there has been a “systematic deterioration” of UNRWA’s presence over the past two years.

The stakes described by the sources extended to the continuity of services for Palestinian refugees, with La Silla Rota saying that for the United Nations these measures threaten the continuity of essential services for Palestinian refugees, including educational, health, and assistance programs.