Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, Israeli forces have increased the use of extreme physical violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, as MSF highlighted in our report “Inflicting harm and denying care”. In total, 930 Palestinians have been killed, including 187 children, since the war in Gaza began, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Access to healthcare has been severely hindered, as confirmed by MSF teams on the ground who have witnessed the systematic pattern of oppression by Israel on health workers and patients. The situation further deteriorated since the ceasefire in Gaza, and Israel’s “Iron Wall” operation which has effectively emptied the three main refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams in the northern West Bank, forcibly displacing over 40,000 Palestinians, according to OCHA.
“The [Israeli] army raided our house and ordered us to evacuate,” says Issam, an MSF patient who was displaced from Nur Shams camp. “We weren’t allowed to take anything with us - not even our documents.”
“All we received was the warning: ‘Get out’,” says Issam. “Displacement is suffering, a silent anguish, a deep pain in the heart for everyone. You see the tears in people’s eyes, but we hold them back.”