November 9, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said in a statement Thursday that it was “witnessing a dramatic increase in violence from Israeli forces in Jenin, in the West Bank.”

“Today there has been a surge in violence, with widespread bombing and shooting,” the organization’s statement read. “This morning leaflets were dropped on Jenin refugee camp, telling residents to evacuate, many of whom have no safe place to go. Our teams in Jenin have treated over 30 patients with gunshot and blast wounds since October 7.”

MSF said that it had witnessed Israeli military vehicles blocking ambulances from reaching healthcare facilities and entering hospitals. Teams were forced to refer patients to hospitals further away, the statement read.

“Hospitals are not targets and must remain safe spaces,” MSF stressed. It also called on the Israeli military to stop firing on hospitals. “Medical care must not be impeded.”

The death toll in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since October 7 has now risen to 176, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health on Thursday. In addition to those killed, over 2,450 Palestinians in the West Bank have been wounded since October 7, the ministry’s report said.

The Palestinians were either killed by Israeli forces or Jewish settlers, the report said.

The United Nation’s emergency relief chief highlighted the dire situation in the West Bank on Wednesday, saying “Again, enough is enough.” 

“The situation is getting increasingly dire in the West Bank,” read a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) from Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Thursday “there has been a significant increase in terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria with over 550 attempted attacks occurring since the beginning of the war.” 

Judea and Samaria are the Jewish biblical names for the West Bank.

“The IDF conducts nightly counterterrorism operations to apprehend suspects, many of them are part of the Hamas terrorist organization. In addition, as part of the security operations in the area, dynamic checkpoints have been put up over different places,” the IDF said.