Doctors Without Borders – Médecins Sans Frontières – has condemned Israel for causing a “deliberate humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and accused it of attempting to tie aid to the forced displacement of Palestinians.
“We are witnessing, in real-time, the establishment of conditions for the eradication of Palestinian lives in Gaza,” the medical charity, referred to by its French acronym MSF, stated.
“Gaza has become a hell on earth for the Palestinians.”
Israel enacted a blockade on aid entering Gaza on 2 March after negotiations to extend a ceasefire that began on 19 January collapsed, following the resumption of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Israel imposed a blockade on all aid entering Gaza on 2 March
MSF cautioned that its medical teams on the ground have “observed a 32% increase in the number of patients suffering from malnutrition over the last two weeks.”
“Declining fuel supplies are restricting our ability to desalinate and distribute water,” the organization mentioned in its statement.
“Those health facilities still operational—already critically low in number and capacity for the populace—are being attacked and are running dangerously low on medications and other essential supplies.”
MSF reported that it has seen a 32% increase in the number of patients presenting with malnutrition.
MSF pointed out that its “teams in Gaza have not received any supplies for 11 weeks and are facing severe shortages of vital medical items like sterile compresses and sterile gloves.”
The organization rejected a US proposal, supported by Israel, to establish a new foundation for aid distribution in Gaza, effectively sidelining the UN and existing aid organizations while granting control to Israel.
“The US-Israel proposal to manage the allocation of supplies under the guise of humanitarian aid raises serious humanitarian, ethical, security, and legal issues,” MSF stated.
“Conditioning aid on forced displacement and vetting of the population is yet another tool in the ongoing campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people,” it added.
Damage from an Israeli attack outside the European Hospital in southern Gaza.
“MSF firmly opposes and condemns any plan that further limits the availability of aid and subjects it to Israeli military occupation objectives.”
The organization urged the “UN, EU member states, and all those with influence over Israel” to “swiftly utilize their political and economic clout to halt the manipulation of aid.”
“Israel’s strategy to manipulate aid is a cynical reaction to the humanitarian crisis they have instigated,” MSF remarked.
“If they wished, Israel and its allies could lift the blockade today and allow humanitarian aid to reach all those in Gaza who depend on it for survival.”
