Gaza Relief Run

MSF update after a year of conlflict

More than one year since the escalation of war in Gaza, the situation continues to deteriorate. MSF teams continue to witness the worsening of the humanitarian and medical situation of people in Gaza: thousands have been killed and injured, living conditions are horrific, and communicable diseases are spreading. Israeli forces have conducted indiscriminate attacks that fail to distinguish between military targets and civilian lives, leading to the destruction of crucial healthcare infrastructure and personnel and the bloodshed of civilians. 

The recurrent forced displacement of the population and Israel's attacks on densely populated areas continue to demonstrate the absence of any safe space in Gaza. Currently up to 80 per cent of Gaza is under active evacuation orders. Up to 1.9 million people—90 per cent of the Gazan population—have had to flee their homes since the escalation of war in October, with some having fled up to ten times seeking safety. Areas Israel designates as humanitarian zones have been repeatedly bombed by Israeli forces have including gathering sites where displaced people shelter, which were formally registered as ‘deconflicted’ by Israeli forces, and all warring parties continue fighting in densely populated residential areas. People are now crammed into the small area of Al Mawasi—with around 30,000 to 34,000 people per square kilometre—living in inhumane conditions with nowhere else to flee, awaiting and fearing the next strike. 

Since the start of the war MSF teams have witnessed the worsening of the humanitarian and medical situation of people in Gaza. Malnutrition is now a reality, and communicable diseases, including skin conditions, are spreading. Bombings are leaving more and more people with traumatic injuries and burns, with over 101,000 wounded people in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health. People don’t have proper access to water, food, or basic services, including medical and sanitation services—further fuelling the medical and humanitarian disaster.

"We are treating children with illnesses related to their dire living conditions, but when they leave the hospital they return to the same place that is making them ill," says Sakib Burza, MSF hospital director. "It's a viscous cycle that can only improve with a ceasefire."

Providing healthcare is becoming virtually impossible in Gaza, as not even health facilities are safe from the bombs. The health system in Gaza is being dismantled just as the needs are exploding, with devastating consequences for Palestinian people. Out of 36 hospitals in Gaza, only 16 remain partially functional; medical centres or humanitarian delivery systems that have been destroyed are being replaced by less effective, improvised options. MSF staff and patients have had to leave 14 different health structures and have endured 26 violent incidents. According to the World Health Organization, 1,042 health workers and at least 318 aid workers have been killed since the beginning of the war—including eight MSF staff.