Israel Has Turned Jabalia Refugee Camp Into a ‘Ghost Town’

The Israeli military has almost completely destroyed the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, once one of the most densely populated places on earth, turning it into a “ghost town,” Haaretz reported on Sunday.

First established in 1948 as a refuge for Palestinians driven from their homes by Zionist militias during the establishment of the modern state of Israel, the Jabalia refugee camp has been under a total siege since early October as part of a new ethnic cleansing campaign to move all Palestinians in northern Gaza to the south.

The IDF estimates that it has completely destroyed 70% of the buildings in the camp, and the ones that remain are damaged. “During a brief visit to the camp Friday afternoon, I could see that even the few buildings that are still standing were badly damaged,” wrote Haaretz reporter Amos Harel.

This used to be Jabalia camp, the largest refugee camp in Gaza established by the UN in 1948 for Palestinians that had been expelled from their homes in the Nakba.

This is not war, it’s the deliberate annihilation of Gaza. This is genocide. pic.twitter.com/PxddvdEhcn

— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) December 13, 2024