Israel blocks ambulance access to Nur Shams refugee camp in West Bank

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society yesterday reported that the Israeli occupation army is preventing medical teams from entering the Nour Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm in the northern occupied West Bank.

This comes as occupation forces stormed the camp and killed ten Palestinians, injuring many others.

Ahmad Zahran, the deputy director of the Red Crescent in Tulkarm, said: “Since Tuesday evening, the Israeli army has closed all entrances to the Nur Shams camp, preventing medical teams from entering.”

“We have received reports of medical emergencies, including cases requiring dialysis and childbirth within the camp, but as of 14:31 GMT, our teams have been unable to reach any of these patients.”

Zahran said his team had contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to facilitate the work of medical teams, but the situation remains unchanged. He pointed out that “the army is surrounding hospitals in Tulkarm, searching ambulances, and scrutinising the identity cards of patients and the injured, leading to delays and hindrances in the work of medical teams.”

In the early hours of yesterday, Israeli occupation forces carried out a large-scale military operation in the northern West Bank, the largest since 2002, killing ten Palestinians and injuring 22 others.

The raid forms part of Israel’s increased military attack on the West Bank since it launched its brutal bombing campaign in Gaza in October last year.

READ: Israel army launches largest West Bank offensive in 20 years, orders evacuations as death toll rises