Israeli military offensives in two West Bank refugee camps have displaced nearly 5,500 Palestinian families since December, local and UN officials said Tuesday, amid escalating violence in the occupied territory.

The Israeli military describes its ongoing operations as "counterterrorism" efforts aimed at rooting out Palestinian militancy.

Jonathan Fowler, spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said an estimated 2,450 to 3,000 families have been displaced from the Tulkarem refugee camp.

Faisal Salama, head of the camp's popular committee, estimated that 80 % of its 15,000 residents have been displaced.

Both Salama and Fowler said that obtaining precise figures is challenging because of the security situation within the camp and its fluctuating population.

"The displaced people from the camp are scattered in the suburbs and in the city of Tulkarem itself," Salama told AFP.

He said that six people had been killed and dozens wounded since the offensive began on January 25.

"The bombing of residential homes in the camp continues, along with destruction and bulldozing of everything."

Salama also reported that the violence has severely restricted the movement of goods into the camp.

"There is a shortage of water, no electricity, no communication and a lack of essential supplies such as milk for children, diapers, and medicine," he added.

Displacement has similarly been severe in Jenin, also in the northern West Bank, where the military launched its intensive assault last month.

Fowler reported that 3,000 families — around 15,000 people — have fled Jenin refugee camp since December, initially when Palestinian security forces staged their own operation against militants and then later because of the Israeli offensive.
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