Eyewitness: ‘It looked like an earthquake had struck Jenin’

Jenin is still reeling from Israel’s offensive, which has caused complete destruction to large areas, including buildings, homes and roads.  

Ameed Shahada, who was in the Jenin camp when the offensive started, described scenes of horror, comparing it to the aftermath of an earthquake.

“Whenever I’d walk past a house, I could hear the sound of crying and wailing,” he said, describing the early hours of Monday morning, where Israeli tanks were deployed and live fire was used. 

Shahada, sought refuge in a nearby house during the raid, where he was trapped for two hours along with other families who had gathered there to seek safety. 

 Like many other journalists covering the events on the ground, Shahada had his equipment completely destroyed, as he watched his camera being shot by Israeli forces multiple times. 

“At this point it felt like we were going to be killed at any moment, right where we were,” he said. 

You can read Shahada’s full account of what happened, as well as a description of what the camp looks like now, here.  

Jenin raid: An eyewitness account of Israel’s large-scale offensive