JENIN: A climate of fear pervades a hospital in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, where patients and doctors are reeling from last month's deadly raid by Israeli agents disguised as medics.
At the rehabilitation ward at Jenin's Ibn Sina hospital, two patients recalled hearing the screams of a nurse as Israeli forces reached the third floor.
"I opened the door and saw a man. I didn't know they were special forces," said a patient, a grey hoodie pulled up over his head to conceal his face. "The man was choking the nurse with his hand and hit her with the butt of his gun."
His account matched that of an elderly patient, speaking while exercising along the corridor clutching a walking frame, who recalled hearing shouting while he stayed put in his room.
Neither knew that through a sky-blue door just metres away, the Israeli unit shot dead three Palestinians, including a paraplegic patient hospitalised for months.
"It's toughest at night," said the patient, who had been shouted at by the undercover agents to shut his door during the assault.
All but one person in the hospital spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were worried about their safety.
Only on closer inspection were bullet holes visible in the abandoned hospital bed and an adjacent chair where the young men had been shot.
A medic said he was approached by a man dressed as a doctor, who spoke perfect Arabic and showed the ID pinned to his chest before asking him to unlock room 376.
The Israeli military justified the killing inside a medical facility, which are granted special protection under international law, by saying the trio were fighters who were "hiding" in the hospital.
The World Health Organization said it was "appalled". Such an attack "creates fear and is dangerous for health workers and patients", said Rik Peeperkorn, the agency's envoy for the Palestinian territories.
While Ibn Sina has continued to function, serving the Jenin area of the northern West Bank, there was palpable unease compared with earlier reporters' visits.
Medics in Jenin have become accustomed to dealing with emergencies, as people wounded during Israeli military raids in the nearby refugee camp are frequently rushed to Ibn Sina.
They must balance such crises alongside care for other patients, such as those in the cardiology department, intensive care or neonatal ward, all of which have been affected by the raid. — AFP
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