According to figures from the Palestinian Authority, around 17,000 people have now left Jenin refugee camp, leaving the site almost completely deserted, while in Nur Shams 6,000 people, or about two thirds of the total, have left, with another 10,000 leaving from Tulkarm camp.

Soldiers have pushed deeper and more forcefully, scattering families and stirring bitter memories of the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.

The Israeli military launched a wide-scale operation last month against militants in several cities in the West Bank. Now, roughly 40,000 Palestinians have fled their homes — the highest since Israel occupied the territory nearly six decades ago,