New York: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the escalation of violence, attacks, and large-scale operations carried out by the Israeli occupation forces in the northern governorates of the occupied West Bank, including the deployment of tanks for the first time in more than two decades. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: ‘The Secretary-General stressed the need for these attacks and escalating violence in the West Bank to end, and he strongly rejects statements by Israeli officials indicating their intention to remain in some areas of the northern occupied West Bank for a long time and to refuse the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes.’

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that the ongoing operations in the northern West Bank have dire humanitarian consequences, stressing that ‘the continued use of lethal war tactics in residential areas is extremely worrying, as it has already resulted in dozens of casualties since the start of the operation on 21 January.’

OCHA pointed out that tens of thousands of Palestinians are still unable to return to their homes, which requires large-scale humanitarian assistance in their current temporary locations.