In recent years the situation has worsened, as double-parked cars frequently line the street, preventing ambulances and other emergency vehicles from passing through.

While the casualty toll was undoubtedly considerable, no comprehensive figures were available because heavy gunfire prevented ambulances from bringing out the wounded and dead.

Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups have accused the Israeli Army of putting civilians at risk and preventing ambulances from reaching the wounded.

The Israeli Army denied preventing ambulances from moving around Ramallah, but said that during heavy exchanges of fire such movements had to be coordinated with both sides.

Iraqis also said that American soldiers prevented ambulances that were clearly marked from entering the area.

Palestinians said soldiers prevented ambulances from evacuating the wounded.

For long periods, witnesses said, the fighting prevented ambulances from collecting the wounded and the dead.

Palestinian ambulance workers said that Israeli troops sometimes fire at them, preventing ambulances from reaching casualties.

Security forces were also preventing ambulances from entering the city centre, where the mosque is located.

Fighting has prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded, and doctors and nurses have been blocked from the hospital.