Israel raids Ramallah medical complex, Palestinian NGO offices

Israeli forces stormed the courtyard of the Palestine Medical Complex in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday and raided the offices of several prominent Palestinian human rights organisations, including Addameer, seizing equipment and files.

Israeli forces deployed snipers at the entrances to the medical complex during the incursion, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. They also blocked people from entering and leaving the facility.

The Palestine Medical Complex, considered the largest government medical facility in the occupied West Bank, has previously been targeted by Israeli forces.

In July, local reports said soldiers stormed the area surrounding the complex and fired tear gas canisters extensively, causing suffocation injuries among Palestinians.

The latest developments came as Israeli forces also raided the offices of several Palestinian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ramallah on Tuesday, including Addameer, which advocates for Palestinian prisoners, as well as the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees and the Human Rights Association, according to Al Jazeera English.

Israeli forces confiscated equipment belonging to Addameer, which Israeli authorities have previously designated a "terrorist organisation".

Israeli forces have previously raided the offices of several Palestinian human rights groups across the occupied West Bank, accusing organisations advocating for Palestinian rights of having links to armed groups.

Israel has claimed that several of these organisations have ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular, left-wing movement with political and armed wings.

However, the organisations have disputed the allegations, and the claims have been challenged over the lack of publicly substantiated evidence supporting them.

On Tuesday, Israeli forces, accompanied by two tow trucks, also entered Al-Bireh, the Al-Tireh neighbourhood and the town of Sarda, north of Ramallah, patrolling the streets in military vehicles, Wafa reported.

Israeli forces also stormed the Legislative Council Roundabout, a prominent junction in central Ramallah, firing live ammunition, rubber-coated metal bullets and tear gas canisters while targeting journalists in the area, according to Wafa.

Local media reports said Firas Lutfi, a journalist with* Sky News Arabia*, sustained a shrapnel wound to his leg after being directly struck by a tear gas canister.

After the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Israel also increased its attacks in the occupied West Bank, with repeated Israeli military raids and settler attacks which have killed hundreds of people.