The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank is taking a "catastrophic turn" due to the destruction of many homes and buildings there as a result of the ongoing Israeli military operation.

"The situation in the camp is taking a catastrophic turn," UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told reporters in Geneva, adding that large parts of it were "completely destroyed in a series of bombings carried out by Israeli forces."

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Israeli forces have killed 70 people in the area since the beginning of the year.

During the military operation, Israeli forces demolished and blew up buildings in the Jenin refugee camp, adjacent to the city of Jenin.

"It is estimated that 100 homes were destroyed or severely damaged," said Touma, speaking from Amman, as a result of the Israeli operation.

"The people of this camp in particular have endured conditions that are beyond tolerance," she added. "The bombings occurred on Sunday when children were supposed to be back in school."

"As far as UNRWA is concerned, 13 schools in the camp and surrounding areas remain closed. This has affected 5,000 children in that area," she said.

Touma added that UNRWA services inside Jenin camp were cut off for several months and then stopped completely in early December.

UNRWA said it had not received any prior warning about the bombing of the buildings, after communication between its staff and the Israeli authorities was cut off.