Israel’s military raids on hospitals could be war crimes

The Israeli soldiers dress up as doctors and patients.

Then they run into the Ibn Sina hospital in the West Bank, where three Palestinian men are said to have been killed.

– This crosses the line of what is allowed in armed conflict, says Mads Harlem of the Norwegian Save the Children, to Verdens Gang.

Early on Tuesday morning, a number of Israeli soldiers reportedly entered the Ibn Sina hospital in Jenin in the occupied West Bank dressed as doctors, patients and Palestinian civilians – three of them wearing hijabs.

On a video clip, which is said to come from the hospital’s surveillance camera, it can be seen how the people are armed and also arrest a person.

In addition, the Palestinian health authority in the West Bank states in a statement that the soldiers opened fire inside the wards, and that three young men were shot dead.

Confirmed three killed

Israeli military (IDF) has confirmed for Norwegian Verdens Gang (VG) that three Palestinian men were killed in the raid. It is stated that these were militiamen who used the hospital as a hideout and were planning a new attack on Israel, similar to the one carried out by Hamas on October 7.

Both terrorist-branded Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have confirmed that the three men shot dead were members, writes the Reuters news agency.

The footage has been circulated by both Israeli and international media, despite its content not being fully confirmed.

Commended by minister

The Norwegian fact-checking site Faktisk states that the video with high probability shows the raid – and the clip has also shared by X by Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who praises the IDF for the effort.

The IDF has also stated that the raid is clear evidence that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are using civilians as human shields and medical facilities as military bases, writes the Reuters news agency.

Hamas has repeatedly denied such accusations.

One of the men who was shot dead had reportedly been hospitalized since October for treatment of leg injuries following an Israeli drone attack on Jenin, writes Al Jazeera.

“Terror”

The channel’s correspondent Charles Stratford, who says he spoke to medical staff at Ibn Sina Hospital, says this is the first time since Israel declared war on Hamas following the attack on the country on October 7 that an Israeli military operation is taking place inside a civilian medical building.

– One can only imagine the terror that patients and staff experienced at the hospital in Jenin. This is just another example of how determined the Israeli military is in its raids against armed combatants around the occupied Palestinian territory, Stratford told Al Jazeera.

Could be a war crime

Mads Harlem, lawyer and human rights expert at Norwegian Save the Children, tells VG that what is seen in the video clip, assuming it is genuine, could be war crimes.

– Masquerading as healthcare workers or patients, which are groups entitled to protection, is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law. It could be a war crime, and must be investigated further, he says.

He explains healthcare workers and patients are groups that must be especially protected in conflicts, according to the laws of war. Impersonating someone entitled to special protection and using that cover to kill or injure someone is prohibited to all parties to a war under international law.

– It is very clear. I believe this is very serious, and crosses the line of what is allowed in an armed conflict, says Mads Harlem to VG.

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