Israeli attacks threaten West Bank healthcare system, WHO warns

The World Health Organization is deeply concerned about Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank and the impact of "starkly rising" attacks on healthcare, its representative in the Palestinian territories has said.

Israel sent tanks into the occupied West Bank for the first time in more than 20 years on Sunday and ordered the military to prepare for an "extended stay" in the area's refugee camps.

"We are deeply concerned about the situation in the West Bank and the impact on health", Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, told reporters via video link from Gaza.

"We see the current flashpoints of violence, attacks on healthcare ... starkly rising in the West Bank."

Israel did not immediately comment on Peeperkorn's remarks about attacks affecting healthcare.

The WHO says there have been 44 attacks this year that affected the provision of healthcare in the West Bank, with four healthcare facilities impacted.

'Restrictions'

Four patients died waiting for an ambulance and eight health workers were injured while attempting to reach patients, it said.

It also said 25 healthcare workers and patients had been killed and 121 wounded in the occupied West Bank from October 7 2023 to February 14 this year.

The WHO also reported "severe movement restrictions" across the West Bank, including obstacles affecting the movement of ambulances and access for healthcare workers.

The WHO has provided emergency supplies and trauma kits to some West Bank hospitals, Peeperkorn said.

At least 40,000 Palestinians have left their homes in Jenin and the nearby city of Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank since Israel began its deadly offensive last month after reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza after 15 months of war.

Eighty-two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank between January 1 and February 13, according to the latest WHO figures.