Doctors Without Borders has ceased all operations in Gaza City. This difficult decision was made due to the severe dangers posed to its staff by the ongoing Israeli military ground offensive, highlighting the escalating crisis in medical care across the territory.
The organization, known for providing crucial medical aid, including treatment for malnutrition and severe trauma, announced on Friday that its clinics in Gaza City were no longer operational. This comes as Israeli tanks and military strikes have advanced to within approximately half a mile of their facilities.
Jacob Granger, the emergency medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza, expressed the grim reality: “We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities, as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces. This is the last thing we wanted, as the needs in Gaza City are enormous.”
This announcement coincided with a statement from the United Nations, revealing that four hospitals in northern Gaza have become unusable over the past month. An airstrike severely damaged one of these facilities on the first day of Israel’s ground offensive. The Israeli military has not yet commented on these reports.
Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO), further warned reporters in Geneva on Friday that more hospitals in Gaza could soon be forced to close their doors. This is primarily due to a critical shortage of essential supplies, including blood and blood bags.
Fuel scarcity, vital for powering hospital generators, has been another persistent challenge throughout the conflict, which began with a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Gaza’s health ministry reported last week that unreliable supplies are making access to healthcare increasingly difficult.
Gaza’s medical infrastructure has suffered immense devastation since Israel launched its comprehensive ground offensive on Gaza City on September 16. Israel claims the city is one of the last remaining strongholds for Hamas in the territory.
Palestinians gathered to bury loved ones outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday. They were unable to move them to a cemetery because of the Israeli ground invasion. Credit: Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters
Prior to the offensive, Israel issued an evacuation order for Gaza City. The military reported last week that approximately 640,000 of the city’s nearly one million residents had already fled to the southern parts of the territory.
However, Mr. Granger emphasized that many of the most vulnerable, such as “infants in neonatal care, those with severe injuries and life-threatening illnesses,” remain unable to evacuate.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, described the worsening conditions in Gaza City as “disturbing and alarming.”
On Friday, he stated on social media that “Attacks on and around health facilities are making it impossible to deliver lifesaving care.” He urged Israel to “ensure safe access and protection for health workers, patients, and medical aid.”
Among the hospitals that ceased operations last month was Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. The United Nations reported that this facility was struck by a military attack on September 16, with 80 patients inside. While no fatalities were reported, the strike damaged rooftop water tanks, communication systems, and medical equipment. The Israeli military has yet to respond to requests for comment regarding this incident.
Israel maintains that Hamas exploits hospitals for military purposes, a claim Hamas denies. International laws of conflict typically designate hospitals as protected sites, subject to attack only under exceptionally rare circumstances.
These closures mean that only 14 hospitals are now functioning across all of Gaza. The 2.2 million inhabitants have endured nearly two years of relentless conflict, which has claimed over 65,000 lives, according to local health officials, and devastated vast areas of the territory.
Mourners at a funeral for Palestinians killed in an Israeli military strike at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City on Friday. Credit: Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters
Eight of the 14 operational hospitals are situated in Gaza City, while the remaining six are in the central and southern parts of the enclave, specifically in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
The World Health Organization noted that hospitals in Gaza City are overwhelmed with patients wounded by military strikes. Concurrently, facilities in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis are inundated with people fleeing Gaza City.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, confirmed on Saturday that his facility continues to operate. He stated that approximately 200 wounded and sick patients are currently receiving care, with more arriving daily as Israel’s offensive persists.
Walking through debris from houses destroyed in an Israeli military strike on Friday. Credit: Ebrahim Hajjaj/Reuters
Dr. Abu Salmiya explained that the military operations have severely hampered efforts to resupply Al-Shifa, which was Gaza’s primary medical center before the war. He conveyed concerns from both staff and patients about potential Israeli military evacuation orders, similar to those issued at least twice previously during the conflict.
Doctors Without Borders reported that in the past week, its Gaza City staff attended to 3,640 patients and treated 1,655 individuals for malnutrition. This highlights an urgent need in an area that a U.N.-backed panel of food experts declared last month was suffering from famine. Israel has refuted the panel’s findings and criticized its methodology.