in the West Bank, the difficult work of caregivers at Jenin hospital

Clashes take place near the hospital in Jenin, in the West Bank, between the Israeli army and armed fighters. Paramedics are struggling to help the population.

In the West Bank, in Jenin, the hospital is no longer a safe place for caregivers and rescuers. Fighting is taking place nearby, with almost daily clashes between armed Palestinian fighters and the IDF. Since October 7 and the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, there have been more than 200 deaths in the West Bank, where the situation is explosive and could become a new front for Israel.

The situation is such that an ambulance is, for example, forced to return empty to Jenin hospital, failing to enter a refugee camp. “Every exit, every meter, for us in the ambulances, is a huge difficulty, explains Wassef, a paramedic. Going in any direction is an ordeal, and just getting through the hospital exit door is difficult. It’s a painful feeling.”

“There are human beings not far from us and we cannot help them, give them the necessary care or evacuate them and bring them here. It is a very painful feeling.”

Wassef, paramedic

at franceinfo

Clashes between young armed fighters from the camp and the Israeli army began in the night and lasted until late morning. “There are explosions around the hospital all the time. Right now, we are targets for them”, believes Wassef. The staff remained almost all night without a patient, but with the certainty that there were some to be treated.

First responders must wear bulletproof vests

The coordinator of the Doctors Without Borders teams in Jenin, Luz Saavedra, is exhausted by this sleepless night of clashes at the door of the establishment. “We only had a woman in labor who arrived, and then a seven-year-old child in critical condition. So it wasn’t necessarily people who were injured, she explains. But we also have to think about continuity of care because people have medical emergencies.”.

At the hospital, working conditions are no longer the same: Red Crescent rescuers now wear bulletproof vests and heavy helmets. On the administration floor, there are even bullet holes in the windows. Jenin hospital is no longer a safe place even if families have chosen, despite everything, to come and sleep there every night. A shelter always less dangerous than their house located in the refugee camp.