Aly Sarah, Surapaneni Tushara, Subeh Mohammad, Wang Qinyi, Andersen Daniel, Mowafi Hani, Poole Danielle N
Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Emergency Department, El Camino Health, Mountain View, CA, USA.
East Mediterr Health J. 2025 Mar 3;31(2):59-67. doi: 10.26719/2025.31.2.59.
Healthcare infrastructure, personnel and persons seeking healthcare are protected under international humanitarian law. However, attacks on healthcare are increasingly a part of modern armed conflicts, including in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt).
To quantify and characterize reported attacks on healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza and correlate reported attacks involving explosives with publicly available data.
This retrospective study analysed publicly available and geolocated health facility and weapons data from 7 October 2023 to 30 June 2024. Reports of attacks on healthcare were categorized by location, outcome and typology. Z-test and Chi-square analyses were conducted to compare attack types between Gaza and the West Bank using R software, and geospatial analyses were conducted using ArcGIS Pro software.
A total of 1280 attacks on healthcare were reported in the oPt during the study period, of which 1052 were included in the analysis. Most of the attacks occurred in Gaza (78.3%), followed by the West Bank (21.7%). The typology of these attacks varied. There was a significant difference between the types of attacks in Gaza and West Bank (P < 0.05), but no significant association between type of weapon used and type of attack in Gaza (|R| < 2). The hotspots of attacks in Gaza were around al-Shifa, Nasser and al-Awda hospitals.
There was a high burden of attacks on healthcare in the oPt during the study period. The differences in types of attacks between Gaza and the West Bank highlight the need for context-specific interventions in the two territories. There is an urgent need for actions to end the use of 2000-lb MK-84 bombs in densely populated areas and near health facilities, in addition to calls for adherence to the international humanitarian law during armed conflicts.
医疗保健基础设施、人员以及寻求医疗服务的人受国际人道主义法保护。然而，对医疗保健的攻击日益成为现代武装冲突的一部分，包括在巴勒斯坦被占领土（oPt）。
量化并描述在约旦河西岸和加沙地带所报告的对医疗保健的攻击情况，并将涉及爆炸物的所报告攻击与公开可用数据相关联。
这项回顾性研究分析了2023年10月7日至2024年6月30日公开可用且具有地理位置信息的医疗机构和武器数据。对医疗保健攻击的报告按地点、结果和类型进行分类。使用R软件进行Z检验和卡方分析，以比较加沙地带和约旦河西岸的攻击类型，并使用ArcGIS Pro软件进行地理空间分析。
在研究期间，oPt共报告了1280起对医疗保健的攻击，其中1052起纳入分析。大多数攻击发生在加沙地带（78.3%），其次是约旦河西岸（21.7%）。这些攻击的类型各不相同。加沙地带和约旦河西岸的攻击类型存在显著差异（P < 0.05），但在加沙地带，所使用武器类型与攻击类型之间无显著关联（|R| < 2）。加沙地带的攻击热点位于希法医院、纳赛尔医院和奥达医院周边。
在研究期间，oPt对医疗保健的攻击负担沉重。加沙地带和约旦河西岸攻击类型的差异凸显了在这两个地区采取因地制宜干预措施的必要性。除了呼吁在武装冲突期间遵守国际人道主义法外，迫切需要采取行动停止在人口密集地区和医疗设施附近使用2000磅的MK - 84炸弹。
