The latest Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern occupied West Bank last month has been described as a “massacre” by local officials and residents and condemned by the United Nations, but it is far from unique in scope and brutality.
In a statement published on Saturday to mark World Humanitarian Day, UN humanitarian coordinator Lynn Hastings said 77 healthcare workers were injured and 30 ambulances damaged while trying to help people in the occupied territory so far in 2023, whether during raids or protests or just on average days.
First responders – non-governmental organisations working with volunteers, doctors, nurses, municipal workers and more – often put their lives at risk while providing help, Hastings said.
They are impeded “amid Israel’s occupation, movement restrictions, political divisions, recurrent conflict, and even efforts to denigrate their work”, Hastings said.
Countless testimonies from first responders on the ground over the years have documented Israel’s deliberate practices in targeting first responders that show no signs of stopping.
Omar Azzam, international humanitarian law coordinator at the Palestine Red Crescent Society, told Al Jazeera there were 193 violations by Israeli forces against its medical staff in the occupied West Bank to date in 2023.
Post from www.aljazeera.com