Palestinian woman delivers stillborn baby after Israeli soldiers delay ambulance

A Palestinian woman delivered a stillborn baby in an ambulance after Israeli soldiers delayed the vehicle at a checkpoint in the occupied West Bank. The 28-year-old woman was six months pregnant and critically ill with severe bleeding when medics collected her from her home in the village of Qaryout, south of Nablus.

According to Palestinian medic Bashar Qaryouti, the ambulance was heading to Rafidia hospital via the Awarta checkpoint when Israeli soldiers stopped the vehicle. Qaryouti stated that soldiers forced him to switch off the ambulance's engine at gunpoint, disabling its medical equipment, despite his explanation that it was needed to keep the patient alive. After being detained for over 30 minutes, the woman's condition worsened, and a nurse was forced to deliver the baby inside the vehicle, resulting in a stillbirth.

Physicians for Human Rights noted that such obstructions significantly delay women's access to medical facilities, citing two other women who were forced to give birth in vehicles around Nablus due to similar Israeli military closures. The organization warned that these actions pose a direct threat to lives and safety, holding Israeli authorities responsible.

In a separate incident, an 8-month pregnant Palestinian woman, Sundus Jamal Shalabi, was killed by Israeli forces, with soldiers reportedly blocking a Red Crescent ambulance from reaching her for 30 minutes. She and her unborn child were pronounced dead at the hospital.