Doctors Without Borders has ceased all operations in Gaza City, citing severe risks to its personnel due to the ongoing Israeli ground offensive. This critical decision underscores the rapidly deteriorating state of medical care and the immense pressures faced by humanitarian organizations in the region.
The international organization, renowned for providing essential medical services such as treating malnutrition and severe trauma, announced its withdrawal on Friday. It reported that Israeli tanks and military assaults had approached within approximately half a mile of its clinics, making continued operations untenable.
“We were left with no alternative but to halt our operations, as our clinics became surrounded by Israeli forces,” stated Jacob Granger, the emergency medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. He emphasized, “This was a last resort, given the overwhelming medical needs within Gaza City.”
This announcement coincided with a report from the United Nations, revealing that four hospitals in northern Gaza had become non-operational over the last month. One of these facilities suffered significant damage from an airstrike on the initial day of Israel’s ground offensive. The Israeli military has not yet commented on these reports.
In Geneva on Friday, Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, cautioned that additional hospitals in Gaza might soon be forced to close. This impending crisis is primarily due to a critical shortage of medical supplies, including vital blood and blood bags.
The scarcity of fuel, essential for running hospital generators, has remained a significant challenge throughout the conflict, which began with a Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023. Last week, Gaza’s health ministry warned that inconsistent supply chains would further impede access to desperately needed healthcare services.
The territory’s medical infrastructure has suffered extensive damage since Israel initiated its full-scale ground offensive on Gaza City on September 16. Israel claims the city is one of the last remaining strongholds for Hamas.
Prior to the offensive, Israel issued an evacuation order for Gaza City. Last week, military reports indicated that approximately 640,000 of the city’s nearly one million residents had sought refuge in the southern parts of the territory.
However, Mr. Granger highlighted that a significant portion of the most vulnerable population, including “infants in neonatal care, those with severe injuries, and individuals facing life-threatening illnesses,” remain trapped and unable to evacuate.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, described the worsening situation in Gaza City as “disturbing and alarming.”
He further stated on social media that “attacks on and near health facilities are rendering the delivery of life-saving care impossible.” He urged Israel to “guarantee safe access and protection for healthcare workers, patients, and essential medical aid.”
Among the health facilities forced to close recently was Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital. The United Nations reported that this hospital was struck by a military assault on September 16, with 80 patients inside. While no fatalities were reported from the strike at Al-Rantisi, it severely damaged rooftop water tanks, communication networks, and medical equipment. The Israeli military has not yet responded to inquiries regarding this specific incident.
Israel maintains that Hamas utilizes hospitals for military operations, a claim vehemently denied by Hamas. International laws of conflict designate hospitals as protected sites, prohibiting attacks on them except under highly unusual circumstances.
These closures have drastically reduced the number of operational hospitals in Gaza to just 14. In this territory, 2.2 million people have suffered through nearly two years of relentless conflict, which local health officials report has claimed over 65,000 lives and devastated vast areas.
Out of the remaining 14 hospitals in Gaza, eight are located in Gaza City, with the other six situated in the central and southern areas, specifically Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
The World Health Organization reported that hospitals in Gaza City are severely overwhelmed by casualties from military strikes. Concurrently, an influx of people evacuating Gaza City has strained the medical facilities in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, confirmed on Saturday that his hospital remains operational, currently caring for approximately 200 wounded and sick patients. He noted that the number of new arrivals continues to climb daily amidst the ongoing Israeli offensive.
Dr. Abu Salmiya expressed concern that the military operations have severely hampered efforts to resupply Al-Shifa Hospital, once Gaza’s foremost medical facility. He added that both staff and patients live in constant fear of another evacuation order from the Israeli military, a directive that has been issued at least twice previously in the conflict.
Doctors Without Borders reported that during the last week, their Gaza City staff attended to 3,640 patients, including 1,655 individuals suffering from malnutrition. This highlights a critical need in an area that a U.N.-backed panel of food experts recently declared to be experiencing famine. Israel has refuted these findings and questioned the panel’s methodology.
Aaron Boxerman contributed to this report.