My daughter has been crying non-stop since the Jenin assault began

All around me, the refugee camp is filled with frantic, panicked families, the rubble of destroyed homes – and tear gas – writes Mustafa Sheta

The Israeli military has closed some roads and bulldozed others, so no ambulances can reach the injured (AFP/Getty)

I woke up today to the second day of the biggest Israeli invasion of the Jenin refugee camp since 2002. Yesterday, we awoke to the blaring of sirens that signalled the start of the assault. From then, the atmosphere was filled with anxiety and a deep sense of foreboding.

This is not an unprecedented aggression or experience, as I am reminded of the last invasion of this scale, which I also witnessed. When those rockets fell, I remember how I felt when explosions shattered the windows of my house. As a Palestinian living under Israeli aggression, we are forced into a continuous cycle of grief and trauma.

It is difficult to describe the sheer magnitude of what we have been experiencing the last few days – Israeli rocket fire targeting the centre of the camp, airstrikes destroying family homes, the constant buzzing of drones overhead, Israeli military jeeps and bulldozers lining the streets. The fear of history repeating itself has been palpable, intensifying the gravity of the situation.