24 February 2023
On 22 February 2023, Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians, including a child and three elderly men, during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. More than 400 Palestinians were injured, with 158 reported injuries from live ammunition, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Among the wounded were 127 children.
Among those killed were Mohammad Shaban, 16, Adnan Saabe Baara, 72 and Abdul Hadi Ashqar, 61. Anan Shawkat Annab, 66, also died after suffering from tear gas inhalation. The number killed in Nablus is higher than that of a raid on Jenin refugee camp last month, which was the deadliest such raid in the West Bank since 2005. Israeli military and settler violence in the West Bank this year has now killed at least 60 Palestinians, including 13 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
“We are experiencing a new level of violence. What happened in Nablus was a nightmare,” said Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Advocacy and Campaigns Manager in the West Bank. “In the middle of the day, Israeli forces invaded the busy city centre and shot dozens of people with live ammunition. No matter where we live in the West Bank, Palestinians now live in a state of constant fear.”
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) remains deeply concerned by the escalating violence against Palestinians, including routine use of excessive force against civilians, and the deteriorating situation for Palestinian health services which lack many of the essential resources they need to respond.
MAP has launched an emergency response to support hospitals and emergency medical teams dealing with spiralling healthcare needs. At least 67 of the Palestinians injured in Nablus, including 47 by live ammunition, were taken to Rafidia Hospital, where MAP is providing medicines and disposables.
“In the middle of the day, Israeli forces invaded the busy city centre and shot dozens of people with live ammunition. No matter where we live in the West Bank, Palestinians now live in a state of constant fear.”
As part of our emergency response, we are also equipping the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) with medical supplies needed by its first aid responders, so that they can stabilise injured people until an ambulance arrives.
“Health services are in dire need of support and the high number of injuries is creating huge pressures on hospitals and emergency wards,” said Aisha Mansour, MAP’s West Bank Director. “We are doing all we can to equip front-line health workers with the training and basic resources like bandages, IV drips and syringes that they need to save lives.”
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During the raid in Nablus, Israeli forces again obstructed Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance crews from reaching the area and evacuating casualties. In one instance, PRCS reports that their ambulance was denied access to reach a two-year-old girl, who has heart problems and was suffering from tear gas inhalation. The ambulance crews had to rush to the child’s home on foot, where they were shot at with rubber-coated steel bullets, and then forced to stay put for almost 40 minutes until it was safe for them to evacuate her to the ambulance.
The international community, including the UK government, must act urgently to end violence against Palestinians and attacks on healthcare in the West Bank, and end impunity for these violations.
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Photo: Palestinian rescuers carry an injured man to an ambulance during clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Nablus, 22 February 2023. (Credit: Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua/Alamy Live News).
