Doctors Without Borders has warned that physical injuries, psychological trauma and limited access to medical care are a daily reality for many Palestinians living in and around the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

During a press conference held today, Tuesday, in Hebron, Doctors Without Borders reviewed its report entitled: “Occupied Life: The Risk of Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Hebron,” which indicates the rapid deterioration in the access of citizens in Hebron to medical care, due to the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation forces and the attacks committed by occupation soldiers and settlers.

“Restrictions on movement, harassment and violence by Israeli forces and settlers are causing immense and unnecessary suffering to Palestinians in Hebron,” said Frederique van Dongen, MSF’s humanitarian director. “This has a disastrous impact on people’s mental and physical health.”

“Ministry of Health clinics across the Hebron governorate were forced to close, pharmacies ran out of medicine, and ambulances transporting patients and the wounded were subjected to obstructions and attacks,” she added.

“As many patients face restrictions on their movements and the risk of violence, they delay seeing a doctor or have no choice but to stop treatment altogether,” she continued. “In addition, families across Hebron are suffering from severe financial hardship after losing their livelihoods, forcing many to cancel their health insurance, limit their food and go without essential medicines that they can no longer afford.”

The report presents testimonies from Palestinian patients and communities supported by MSF, detailing the consequences of movement restrictions imposed by Israel, the occupying power, and physical violence on Palestinians’ access to medical care, and describing their devastating impact on people’s physical and mental health.

The report states that the area called H2 in Hebron is one of the most restricted areas in the West Bank, where there are 21 Israeli military checkpoints that control the movement of Palestinian citizens, and pose major obstacles to health care workers trying to reach the area.

“For two months after October 7, the Ministry of Health clinics inside Area H2 were closed, and only one clinic was able to open due to Israeli restrictions,” he explains.

In November 2023, after the Israeli occupation forces had blocked all Ministry of Health staff from accessing the area, forcing them to close their doors to patients, an MSF employee living in H2 told us, “No clinics are currently operating within the closed area, and even if they were, residents live in fear of dying for medicine. You can’t get sick here, it’s not allowed.”

Van Dongen explained that in the months immediately following October 7, Israeli restrictions on movement and attacks by the occupation and its settlers in the H2 area of Hebron were so severe that patients resorted to climbing over walls and rooftops, risking their lives just to get health care.

“MSF staff tell us that the constant threat of violence is taking a toll on people’s mental health,” she added. “When the occupation soldiers come at night to raid homes, my children and wife hide behind me for protection, but I cannot protect them. They have power, and they can do whatever they want.”

The organization's report also highlights forced displacement in the Hebron Governorate, as the organization says that the coercive and violent policies and practices of the Israeli occupation forces and settlers are pushing an increasing number of Palestinian families to evacuate their homes in what may amount to forced displacement.

The report describes how MSF teams have responded since October 2023 to the urgent needs of more than 1,500 people across Hebron who were forcibly displaced from their villages or had their homes and property destroyed.

“Despite the responsibility of the Israeli authorities as an occupying power, they have failed to fulfill their obligations towards the Palestinian people,” said Van Dongen, noting that the occupation’s actions in Hebron have far-reaching consequences for the physical and psychological health of Palestinians.

The Israeli occupation authorities were called upon to ensure that Palestinians have unhindered access to health care and other basic services, protect Palestinians from forced displacement, and facilitate the safe return of the displaced to their homes.