Israel-Hamas war: Disguised as doctors and patients, Israeli soldiers shoot dead 3 in Jenin hospital

Images are hardly believable. Disguised as medical personnel and civilians, Israeli soldiers entered a hospital in Jenin in the West Bank and shot dead three Palestinian men on Tuesday, January 30. On video surveillance images, we can see a dozen members of the Israeli special forces, disguised as nurses, doctors, veiled women or even people in wheelchairs, entering the Ibn Sina hospital armed with weapons. hand attack.

According to the organization, the three people killed were sleeping at the time of the incident. Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported, citing sources inside the hospital, that special forces in disguise “infiltrated the hospital individually, went to the third floor and killed the youth.

West Bank tensions

Since October 7, at least 381 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank where residents face daily settler violence and restrictions on their rights. There have also been numerous raids by the Israeli army on Palestinian camps, particularly in Jenin. The West Bank is ruled by the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, the opposition party to Hamas.

Tuesday’s raid on the Jenin hospital could be considered a violation of international humanitarian law and therefore a war crime, according to experts. In recent weeks many voices have been raised to condemn the attacks on hospitals regularly targeted by Israel in Gaza. For its part, the IDF justified its attack, claiming it targeted Hamas fighter Mohammed Jalamneh, who was “recently involved in promoting terrorist activities” and who was “hiding out” at Ibn Sina Hospital, CNN reports. The Israeli military argues that the men killed used the hospitals as shelters and “human shields”. Hamas has previously denied the allegations.

Members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad

In a message posted on the Shin Bet in the Jenin refugee camp, which led to the elimination of three terrorists.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, claimed Mohammed Jalamneh as a member and declared that he had been “martyred” by “bullets” from the “army of occupation”. Two other men were also claimed by Islamic Jihad. Another victim, Basil al-Ghazawi, was being treated at the facility for injuries sustained in a rocket blast at a cemetery in Jenin in October, Ibn Sina Hospital said.

Violation of international law

The Palestinian Ministry of Health condemned the attack and called on the UN General Assembly to provide necessary protection to health facilities and emergency workers. “This crime follows dozens committed by occupying forces against health care facilities and teams of emergency personnel. International law provides general and special protection for civilian places, including hospitals,” he said. The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The Israeli forces involved in the operation were wearing civilian clothes and some were dressed as medical personnel, all of which are protected by the laws of war,” said Aurel Saari, a law professor at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. “The killing of three Palestinians by Israeli forces dressed as medical personnel in a single attack therefore violates the prohibition on resorting to negligence,” it added. He adds that wounded or sick people benefit from equal protection status: “Killing them is a violation of the law of armed conflict.”