Doctors Without Borders exposes Israeli genocide in Gaza

 

From Christopher Lockyear

According to a new Doctors Without Borders (MSF) report, there have been repeated Israeli military attacks on Palestinian civilians, the dismantling of the healthcare system and other essential infrastructure, and the systematic denial of humanitarian assistance over the last 14 months.

People in Gaza are struggling to survive apocalyptic conditions, but nowhere is safe, no one is spared, and there is no exit from this shattered enclave.

The recent military offensive in the north is a stark illustration of the brutal war the Israeli forces are waging on Gaza, and we are seeing clear signs of ethnic cleansing as Palestinians are forcibly displaced, trapped and bombed.

What our medical teams have witnessed on the ground throughout this conflict is consistent with the descriptions provided by an increasing number of legal experts and organisations concluding that genocide is taking place in Gaza.

While we don’t have legal authority to establish intentionality, the signs of ethnic cleansing and the ongoing devastation – including mass killings, severe physical and mental health injuries, forced displacement, and impossible conditions of life for Palestinians under siege and bombardment – are undeniable.

Israel’s all-out war on Gaza, in response to Hamas’s horrific attacks, has reportedly killed more than 45,000 people, including eight of our colleagues.

But the number of excess deaths related to the war is likely much higher due to the impacts of a collapsed healthcare system, disease outbreaks, and severely limited access to food, water, and shelter.

The United Nations estimated earlier this year that more than 10,000 bodies remained buried under the rubble. Israeli forces have on numerous occasions prevented essential items such as food, water, and medical supplies from entering the Gaza Strip, as well as blocked, denied, and delayed humanitarian assistance, as documented in the report.

Some 1.9 million people – 90% of the entire population of the Gaza Strip – have been forcibly displaced, many forced to move multiple times.

Fewer than half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are even partially functional and the healthcare system lies in ruins.

During the one-year period covered by the report, MSF staff alone have endured 41 attacks and violent incidents, including airstrikes, shelling, and violent incursions on health facilities; direct fire on the organisation’s shelters and convoys; and arbitrary detention of colleagues by Israeli forces.

MSF medical personnel and patients have been forced to evacuate hospitals and health facilities on 17 separate occasions, often literally running for their lives. Warring parties have conducted hostilities near medical facilities, endangering patients, caretakers, and medical staff.

Meanwhile, Palestinians’ physical and mental health injuries are overwhelming, and the needs continue to grow. Our supported facilities have carried out at least 27,500 consultations for violence and 7,500 surgical interventions.

People are suffering from war wounds as well as chronic diseases, made worse when they cannot get access to essential healthcare services and medicines. Israel’s forced displacement has pushed people into unbearable and unhygienic living conditions where diseases can spread rapidly.

As a result, we are treating high numbers of people for illnesses like skin diseases, respiratory infections, and diarrhoea, all of which are expected to increase as winter temperatures drop.

Children are missing out on crucial immunisations, leaving them vulnerable to diseases like measles and polio. MSF has observed an increase in the number of malnutrition cases, however it is impossible to carry out a full malnutrition screening in Gaza due to widespread insecurity and the lack of proper deconfliction measures.

As medical care options dwindle in Gaza, Israel has made it even more difficult for people to be medically evacuated. Between the closure of the Rafah crossing in early May and September, Israeli authorities have only authorised the evacuations of 229 patients. This is a drop in the ocean of needs.

The situation in northern Gaza is especially dire following Israel’s recent scorched earth military offensive that has depopulated large areas and reportedly killed almost 2,000 people. The northern part of the Gaza Strip, particularly Jabalia camp, has been besieged again by Israeli forces since Oct 6.

Israeli authorities have dramatically reduced the quantity of essential aid authorised to enter the north. In October, the amount of supplies reaching the whole Gaza Strip hit its lowest point since the war escalated in October 2023: a daily average of 37 humanitarian trucks entered in October 2024, well below the 500 humanitarian trucks entering before Oct 7, 2023.

We call on states, particularly Israel’s closest allies, to end their unconditional support for Israel and fulfil their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza.

Nearly a year ago, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.

Israel has taken no meaningful action to comply with the court order. Instead, Israeli authorities continue to actively block us and other humanitarian organisations from providing lifesaving assistance to people trapped under siege and bombardment.

Instead, Israel’s blockade and continued obstruction of aid have made it close to impossible for people in Gaza to access essential goods, including fuel, food, water, and medicines. At the same time, Israel has decided to effectively ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is the largest provider of aid, healthcare, and other vital services for Palestinians.

MSF repeats its call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire. The total destruction of Palestinian life in Gaza must stop. We are also calling for immediate and safe access to northern Gaza to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid and medical supplies to hospitals.

And while we continue to provide lifesaving care in central and southern Gaza, we call on Israel to end its siege on the territory and open vital land borders, including the Rafah crossing, to enable a massive scale-up of humanitarian and medical aid. - FMT

Christopher Lockyear is the secretary-general of Médecins Sans Frontières.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.