In the West Bank, violence against Palestinians is nothing new; 2022 was already one of the deadliest years for Palestinians, and July 2023 marked a turning point with large-scale attacks and incursions in Jenin. However, the violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023. People are being subjected to increasing attacks, harassment and restrictions by Israeli forces and settlers. Since then, according to OCHA, at least 698 Palestinians have been killed and around 6,000 injured in the West Bank, the majority during Israeli military operations, and by Israeli settlers. On October 3 2024, 18 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tulkarm refugee camp carried out by an F-16 fighter jet. The use of drone strikes, air strikes and other bombardments by Israeli forces, in often densely populated areas and refugee camps, has become increasingly common.

MSF teams are witnessing this spike in violence and incursions, as well as continued attacks on healthcare and obstructions of ambulances, in Tulkarm and Jenin where the population underwent a 9-day large-scale military incursion in September 2024. The psychological toll of these incursions is extremely high for Palestinians living in the West Bank who live in constant fear of the next attack and face continuous trauma.

As a result of the incessant Israeli military incursions leading to wide-scale damage to civilian infrastructure and demolition of houses, Tulkarm and Jenin are the two governorates with the highest number of displaced people in the West Bank with respectively 1,882 and 1,524 displaced people registered as of October 3rd.

To mitigate the deadly consequences of blockages to access to healthcare, MSF equips volunteer paramedics in Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps with donations and training, so they can stabilise patients during active hostilities in case ambulances are not able to reach them. MSF also conducts “stop the bleeding” trainings for residents of the camps for family members or neighbours who may not be able to reach a hospital. MSF teams are also providing group and individual sessions of psychological first aid (PFA) in communities and facilitating PFA trainings for medical staff and volunteers.

Additionally, MSF is supporting the emergency rooms in the Ministry of Health hospitals in Jenin (Khalil Suleiman Hospital) and Tulkarem (Thabet Thabet Hospital) governorates.

MSF keeps adapting its response to needs of the population, and during the last incursions in Tulkarem and Jenin, our teams also carried out donations of medication, diapers, formula and bottled water for residents trapped in the camps lacking basic necessities.