Palestine/Sydney, October 11: Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders’ (MSF) medical-humanitarian teams are on the ground in Gaza responding to the latest escalation in violence. MSF has been working in Palestine since 1989.
Hamas launched a major assault across multiple locations in Israel, firing rockets on cities, attacking civilian gatherings, and taking hostages. In response, the Israeli government declared war on Hamas and launched a massive counteroffensive in Gaza, including a barrage of air strikes hitting ambulances, hospitals, refugee camps, and other civilian sites.
What MSF teams have seen over the last 72 hours has been nothing short of horrific. With massive casualties on both sides, those caught up in this cycle of violence must be protected, regardless of identity. The current escalation of this conflict is far beyond anything our teams have seen in recent years. Most of the victims are civilians, including many women and children.
MSF does not run medical programs in Israel, which has strong emergency and health services, although we have offered our support. We have long-standing programs in Palestine, and so our reporting is rooted in the direct witnessing of our patients and staff on the ground there.
MSF has been working 24/7 since the beginning of the recent conflict. Currently MSF is donating essential medicines and medical equipment to the main hospitals in the Gaza Strip. We have also sent surgical teams to two hospitals to help treat the wounded. In the coming days, post-operative surgery will be a priority, as most of the wounded we’ve received will need several surgical interventions. We have also set up a clinic in downtown Gaza city, which we will try to keep open if conditions allow.
The intensity of the bombardments by the Israeli army in Gaza is making movement almost impossible and preventing us from getting an overview of the consequences for the population. However, what we are seeing are hospitals overwhelmed by the number of wounded, with surgical units running day and night. On Saturday, the Indonesian hospital, supported by MSF, was damaged in an airstrike. We do not use ambulances as several of them have been struck already and it is not safe. We call on all parties to the conflict must ensure the safety of health facilities and civilians.
Israel is required by International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to provide effective advanced warning if an attack is expected to directly impact civilians. However, the current system in Gaza does not provide enough time to heed the warning. At least 200,000 thousand people are currently displaced in Gaza, seeking refuge as they learn of impending strikes in their area. The problem is that nowhere is safe in Gaza right now. One MSF staff moved with his family to the Nuseirat camp upon learning of an incoming strike, but strikes threaten that area as well.
MSF’s teams are already seeing shortages of water, electricity and fuel, which hospitals rely on for their generators, and some only have enough fuel for a few days. The announcement of total blockade in Gaza will only exacerbate this situation and risks having catastrophic effects very quickly. Safe spaces and passages must be established to allow emergency teams and medical supplies to enter Gaza.
MSF Head of Mission in Gaza, Léo Cans, says:
“The intensity of the violence and bombardments is shocking, as is the death toll. The declaration of war must not, under any circumstances, lead to collective punishment of the population of Gaza. Cutting off water, electricity and fuel supplies is unacceptable, as it punishes the entire population and deprives them of their basic needs.
The situation in Gaza is catastrophic; the hospitals are overwhelmed. The number of wounded is extremely high – there is a constant influx into all the hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The medical teams are exhausted, working around the clock to treat the wounded.
In Gaza today, people are terrified. They are very tough people because unfortunately they have lived through a lot of wars, but the current situation is causing them extreme anxiety. They say that this time it’s different: they don’t see a way out and they wonder how it’s all going to end. They are in terrible mental distress. There aren’t words to describe what people are going through.”
MSF activities in Palestine
MSF has been in Palestine since 1989 and currently has medical humanitarian operations in Jenin, Nablus, Hebron, and Gaza. Today in Gaza we provide assistance to four hospitals, with medical programming focused on burns, surgery, physiotherapy, mental health and antimicrobial resistance. Our regular programs in Palestine provide medical and psychological assistance to people affected by the ongoing conflict and blockade.
We are a humanitarian organisation, which means we treat everyone who needs help, but our resources are not unlimited: we focus them in places where there is the biggest need. The Palestinian healthcare systems both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been crippled by over seventy years of occupation and over ten years of blockade and are unable to meet the basic health needs of their respective populations. In contrast, Israel has an excellent healthcare system and so generally Israel does not need support from MSF to treat the wounded, but we have offered our help if they need it.
The Australian section of MSF was established in 1995 and is one of 24 international MSF offices around the world committed to delivering medical humanitarian assistance to populations in crisis. Every year around hundred and fifty Australians and New Zealanders are sent on assignment by Médecins Sans Frontières Australia. MSF delivers medical care based on need alone and operates independently of government, religion or economic influence and irrespective of race, religion or gender. For more information visit msf.org.au
