The International Committee of the Red Cross stressed that hospitals must be a safe haven to preserve human life, especially since the need for treatment is most acute in “combat zones.”

The spokesman for the committee, Mohammed Hamayel, told the official news agency, "Wafa", today, Wednesday, that the life of no patient, doctor, paramedic or ambulance driver should be in danger.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli occupation forces began, at dawn today, a large-scale aggression on Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm, which has so far resulted in the martyrdom of nine citizens, the injury of 11 others, and major destruction of the infrastructure.

Helicopters, drones, and a large number of military vehicles reinforced with bulldozers participated in the ongoing aggression on the northern West Bank.

The occupation forces imposed a siege on the cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarm, and deliberately obstructed the work of ambulance teams, preventing them from reaching the injured in the places they targeted. They blocked the roads leading to Ibn Sina Hospital with dirt mounds, and besieged the Martyr Khalil Suleiman Governmental Hospital, and the headquarters of the Red Crescent and Friends of the Patients societies.

The ICRC spokesman added: The lives of medical personnel must not be threatened while they are trying to save others, stressing that hospitals enjoy special protection under international humanitarian law, which all parties must respect their obligations under.

He pointed out that requesting the evacuation of hospitals is a complex and difficult matter, especially for patients who need to undergo treatment, in addition to those who are unable to move, and this is something that must be taken into consideration in any military operations.

Hamayel said that the responsible authorities must facilitate access to medical and health centers, regardless of the circumstances.

He pointed out that the International Committee of the Red Cross works at all times and with various parties to facilitate access for any person with medical and health needs to care centers.

The Ministry of Health warned in a press statement today of the repercussions of the occupation's siege of the hospitals of Jenin and Tulkarm and its threats to storm them.

She added that dozens of patients are currently being treated in Jenin's governmental, civil and private hospitals, and that any storming of them is a direct threat to their lives and the lives of medical staff.

She called on the international community and the Red Cross to intervene to protect medical institutions, at a time when the occupation forces are obstructing ambulances from reaching them, which puts the lives of patients and the injured at risk, which constitutes a flagrant violation of human rights, international humanitarian law and international human rights law.