Human Rights Watch on Wednesday condemned Israeli forces in the West Bank for blocking and delaying ambulances carrying Palestinians to hospitals with “appalling regularity”, including forcing a pregnant woman in active labor to deliver on the road in an incident that cost the infant’s life.

Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at Human Rights Watch, stated: “Amid rampant attacks on civilians and mass forced displacement in the West Bank, Israeli forces are delaying Palestinians from reaching hospitals, including even infants and pregnant women experiencing dangerous labor. No country should be supporting unlawful acts by Israel’s military or its settlements.”

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel as an occupying power is required to ensure Palestinians’ access to emergency medical care. According to Human Rights Watch, that obligation went unmet on July 27, when paramedic Bashar al-Qaryuti and nurse-midwife Sabreen Atallah transported a six months pregnant woman from Qaryut village toward Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, roughly 30 kilometers away.

She was in critical condition and was drifting in and out of consciousness. Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks forced the ambulance onto secondary roads, and both alternate routes al-Qaryuti attempted were blocked by military gates, forcing the paramedics to deliver the infant, who unfortunately did not survive. The soldiers then pointed their weapons at them, an action that directly contravenes Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions which states that medical personnel must be respected and protected in all circumstances.

The World Health Organization recorded 50 cases of delays to Palestinian medical care in the West Bank between January and June 2026. A July 31 OCHA situation report found Israeli forces “significantly impeded” access to health care following a settler attack on July 24 that led to the killings of two Israelis, including a soldier, and four Palestinians. As of May 31, the WHO had documented 987 attacks on and delays to health care in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, affecting 673 ambulances, resulting in 39 deaths.

Human Rights Watch said Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated under international law to ensure Palestinians’ access to emergency healthcare and to respect and protect medical transports, pregnant women, and children. The organization called on governments to impose targeted sanctions, suspend arms transfers, ban trade with illegal settlements, and support the International Criminal Court’s investigations, including by executing its arrest warrants.

Wednesday’s report comes amid a broader escalation of Israeli restrictions and settler violence in the West Bank. UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned last week that Israel’s plans to accelerate settlement outpost authorization constitute a “flagrant violation” of international law, and Human Rights Watch condemned reprisal settler attacks in the same period.