West Bank: Inside Jenin’s refugee camp during Israeli raid

Jenin, the focus of news networks today, has been living through a news blackout.

The Palestinian phone network was down for much of the day – lines cut by the Israeli military operation here, the telecoms company said.

The resident I speak to says his family still has water and electricity, and that a small shop nearby was open and selling supplies, under the constant buzz of military drones.

As we talk, a few scattered gunshots reverberate over the rooftops from the direction of the camp.

“Yes, I heard them too,” he says. “The sound of the drones has increased.”

As he is speaking, an armoured bulldozer rumbles towards one of the camp’s main entrances, the road deserted and baking in the afternoon sun.

For a few hours last night, explosions and gunfire erupted from the alleyways there, disrupting sleep.

But since then, this man says it had been largely quiet – with no sign of house-to-house searches in his neighbourhood, nor of fighters from the camp.

“It’s abnormally quiet,” he said.