Israel launched a major military incursion in the northern West Bank in August, which it called “Operation Summer Camps.” It sent armored vehicles into the cities of Jenin and Tulkarem, severing water and electricity and leading Palestinians to ration food, residents told CNN.

The IDF has evacuated about 40,000 Palestinians from the northern West Bank since January 21, the most in decades, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday. It was a stunning admission given that the IDF has repeatedly denied reports attesting to that by The New York Times and CNN in recent weeks.

Israel’s defense minister, Israel Katz, said that 40,000 Palestinian residents displaced from militant hotbeds would not be allowed to return to their homes.