The Unseen Toll of War: Psychological Scars in Jenin Refugee Camp

Families in the Jenin refugee camp recount the terror and lasting mental trauma inflicted by ongoing Israeli military operations in the area

The Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank is subjected to nightly Israeli army raids.

It has been one of the flash points of the war, causing massive loss of lives and property—and inflicting psychological damage on children.

My house was destroyed. They entered it and blew down the door and destroyed the windows and furniture … everything.

Nawal Sholmeh has lived in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank for close to three decades. She told The Media Line she is anxious for her family’s well-being.

“My house was destroyed. They entered it and blew down the door and destroyed the windows and furniture … everything. They were shooting at us,” says Sholmeh.

The mother of five spends her day helping her husband in their small market.

She says her 12-year-old son Sameer cowered in fear when the soldiers entered their home. He is terrified and has been having nightmares.

The children’s state of mind is very fragile; they are in a state of terror.

“The children’s state of mind is very fragile; they are in a state of terror. Always worried about seeing the army. Every time they hear a sound they become afraid,” says Sholmeh.

Sameer was trapped in his school along with more than 200 other students during one of the raids last week. His mother says he hasn’t been to school since.

Sameer smiles a lot. He tries to put on a brave face. But behind the smile there is worry.

“I’m tired. All the people are psychologically tired,” he told The Media Line.

There have been daily Israeli army incursions inside the camp since the October 7 Hamas attack. The Israeli army brings with it dozens of armored vehicles and hundreds of soldiers, and recently they have been using bulldozers.

They want to destroy our morale. They demolish our homes, blow up the streets, and destroy property so that we turn against the resistance and the fighters and hate them, and blame them for our situation. This won’t happen.

“They want to destroy our morale. They demolish our homes, blow up the streets, and destroy property so that we turn against the resistance and the fighters and hate them, and blame them for our situation. This won’t happen,” Saleem Samdi, a resident of the camp, told The Media Line.

Social worker Fatina Ahmad told The Media Line that the Israeli army raided her home several times in the past few months.

“They stormed the house early in the morning, 25 soldiers. They took down the door and brought a dog in with them and released it at me and my son. They brutally grabbed my eldest son,” says Fatina.

The constant sound of an Israeli drone fills the skies of the camp; it’s how the Israeli army keeps a close eye on the residents of the camp.

The Israeli military says the raids are targeting suspected armed Palestinians.

The northern West Bank city of Jenin is the camp’s namesake. It’s a stronghold of the armed groups and the site of frequent army raids.

Fatina says the actions of the soldiers have had a negative effect on her family.

“The grandchildren are psychologically affected. My eldest granddaughter has a seizure when she hears the sound of Israeli forces or drones, and she clings to her mother.”

“The little girl is 3 years old, and since the last invasion, she has lost the ability to speak. We took her to the doctor yesterday. My eldest grandson also trembles with fear and twitches constantly,” says Fatina.

Young people here have seen many of their friends being killed.

In just over five weeks since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, at least 200 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry.

The figure is almost as high as the ministry’s toll of 208 dead for the first nine months of the year up to the start of the war.