Israeli forces raid Bethlehem hospital and assault patients, visitors

Israeli forces raided the grounds of a hospital in the city of Bethlehem in the southern occupied West Bank on Monday evening and assaulted patients and visitors, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said that “Israeli forces raided the grounds of the Arab Society for Rehabilitation Hospital, terrorised patients and visitors and assaulted some of them.”

The ministry strongly condemned the raid and the continued violations against hospitals and medical centres, stressing that hospitals and health centres are “protected places under international law”.

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It said that raiding or attacking such facilities, or exposing patients and medical staff to danger, constitutes a “serious violation” of international conventions and laws, threatening the safety of healthcare services and patients’ right to receive care safely.

The ministry called on international health and humanitarian organisations, particularly the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to intervene urgently to stop what it described as “repeated violations” against hospitals, medical centres and health workers, and to ensure their protection and the safety of patients and staff.

The occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has seen an escalation in settler attacks on Palestinians and their property, which have intensified since the start of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip on 8 October 2023.

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