Israeli forces raid Palestinian hospital in West Bank, arrest injured patient

By Awad Rajoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Israeli special forces stormed a hospital in the occupied West Bank late Wednesday, arresting an injured Palestinian patient, according to local state media.

The Palestine Television network reported that an Israeli unit entered Specialized Arab Hospital in Nablus and detained the man, whose identity has not yet been disclosed. Radio Voice of Palestine said the forces used a Palestinian public transport vehicle to carry out the operation.

Footage shared by the broadcaster showed the aftermath of the arrest, including the patient's bloodstained hospital bed and moments of the raid. Israeli authorities have not issued a statement on the incident.

The raid comes a day after two Palestinians were killed and another injured when an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle in Aqaba, near Tubas in the northern West Bank.

Following the strike, Israeli forces reportedly entered Tubas Governmental Hospital, detained a doctor and deployed a tear gas canister in the emergency ward, causing several cases of suffocation among patients and medical staff, according to witnesses.

The Israeli military acknowledged the drone strike, claiming it targeted an “armed cell in the Aqaba area of the Jordan Valley Brigade,” without providing further details.

Tension has been running high in the West Bank due to Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 44,530 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year.

At least 804 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,450 others injured by the Israeli army in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark advisory opinion that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio