Asma’ al-Jaber will never forget the day when Israeli warplanes bombed her house and killed her son in the middle of the Nur Shams camp in Tulkarm city last June.

In recent months, "Israel" has returned to using bombing by fighter jets in the West Bank, a military technique it has stopped using since the end of the al-Aqsa Intifada in early 2005.

This targeting includes homes, vehicles, and even gatherings of people whom the Israeli army claims are wanted, focusing primarily on the cities of Jenin, Nablus, and Tulkarm, which "Israel" sees as hotbeds for Palestinian armed groups.

Since October 7, coinciding with its aggression against the Gaza Strip, "Israel" has carried out 62 airstrikes in the West Bank using Apaches, F-16s, or drones, according to the Israeli Channel 14.

The house turned into rubble

On June 30, Asma’ went out to visit her mother at noon while her sons were at work and her daughters went to visit their aunt. Only her son Ashraf, 20, remained at home.

It was 2:00 pm when the sound of an Israeli fighter plane was heard in the sky of the Nur Shams camp. Shortly, three missiles were fired at Asma's house, causing huge explosions that echoed through neighboring cities.

Asma’ was terrified by the sound and overwhelmed by a dreadful feeling, so she ran toward her house, only to find it reduced to rubble. She began calling out for her son, "Ashraf... Ashraf," while crying bitterly.

After more than half an hour of searching under the rubble, Ashraf was brought out alive but suffering from serious injuries from which he died six days later, while his relative, Saeed al-Jaber, who was present on the ground floor of the house, was killed instantly.

"Israel" accused al-Jaber of being responsible for several operations against Israeli soldiers while disregarding that the bombing led to the demolition of the three-story house inhabited by a family of ten and caused the wounding of a 12-year-old girl, who was in the neighboring house, with shrapnel in her neck.

"The sound was terrible, and when I saw the house, I couldn't help myself and started crying. Everything was destroyed and no longer fit for habitation. Even the neighbors' homes were damaged by the bombing."

Asma’ and her family were forced to rent a small house on the outskirts of the camp, but she will never forget the sound that shook the area, resulting in the killing of her son and the demolition of her home – a place where she had lived since her marriage and where she raised all her children.

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“We couldn’t take anything out of the house, only the clothes we were wearing. I was sad to leave the neighborhood and feared that more houses would be exposed to such brutal bombing,” she added.

On December 17, Asma’s nephew Mahmoud al-Jaber was also killed by a drone targeting a group of Palestinians inside the camp.

Existing risks

Balata camp, east of Nablus, is also no stranger to Israeli airstrikes.

The head of the popular committee in the camp, Ahmed Zoqan, told us that 21 houses were no longer habitable due to repeated bombing by drones, including homes that were completely destroyed.

Additionally, over 200 houses were partially damaged, and their owners are still living in them under difficult conditions, with growing fears of not being able to stay there as winter approaches.

“Several houses in the camp were subjected to repeated bombardment, which led to the collapse of their walls, so we completed their demolition because they had become a threat to the lives of residents,” he explained.

Due to the nature of the close-knit construction of homes inside the camps, large numbers of them are damaged during any targeting, which poses a challenge for residents to stay in them despite the risk of being exposed to severe damage.

The headquarters of the Fatah movement in the Balata camp was bombed several times, as "Israel" claims that it is a place where fighters gather and store explosive devices.

“This building was bombed more than four times, and now it poses a danger to the residents because it is at risk of collapsing. So, we decided to demolish it, but we lack resources and are unable to fully meet the demands of the people in the face of the ferocious Israeli attacks on everything in the camp,” Zoqan added.

'Expansion of Aggression'

The frequent bombings and air attacks in the West Bank have prompted Palestinians to try to imagine the next stage, wondering whether Israeli military operations in cities and camps will fully turn into air attacks.

Researcher and political analyst Sari Samour believes that the use of air force in the West Bank reveals "Israel’s" intent to expand its aggression.

He believes that the use of aerial bombardment in the West Bank proves that "Israel's" devastating war in the Gaza Strip is not only a response to Hamas' attack on October 7, as there are no weapons and military capabilities in the West Bank as in Gaza.

“The bombing is an expansion of the aggression. Israel doesn’t want to engage in direct clashes with militants during which there would be a possibility of injury and death of soldiers,” he explained.

As for the title of the next stage in the West Bank, it will be linked to the results of the war in Gaza and its repercussions and outcomes, as he said, but it is most likely that Israel will use the weapon of settler chaos in an attempt to displace the Palestinians.

According to Sammour, this doesn’t mean that the bombing of homes and civilians by military aircraft will stop, rather it will be accompanied with a greater free rein for the settlers to act with impunity.