Doctors withous borders (MSF) warns that “hundreds of people have been killed and injured” in southern Gaza in the last few days alone – and that hospitals are now flooded with injured civilians in need of treatment.
– Every day, Israeli authorities order a new area to be evacuated, urging people to move to another town, farther and farther south, according to staff on the ground.
Katrien Claeys, the aid organization’s team leader on the ground, says that “we hear bombing around us, day and night” and that the number of Palestinians injured and killed seems endless.
– In the last 48 hours, over 100 dead and over 400 injured people arrived at the emergency room of Al-Aqsa hospital.
As the injured flood the hospital, care for those whose conditions are not immediately life-threatening – even those with serious infections and injuries – must be de-prioritized.
Forced to abandon clinics
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where MSF teams provide surgical care to trauma and burn patients, is now at the limit of its capacity due to the constant influx of new patients.
– The hospital is receiving several seriously injured patients almost every hour. With the situation at the hospital – there is no room left – it is really a terrible situation. Everyone is really worried about what is going to happen next, said Chris Hook, the organization’s medical coordinator in Khan Younis.
As Israel’s air and ground offensive moves south, Palestinians have been ordered to evacuate further south to Rafah, along the Egyptian border, and the medical organization has been forced to leave several clinics because they are covered by the evacuation order.
– Every day, Israeli authorities order a new neighbourhood to evacuate, asking people to move to another city, further and further south, says an internally displaced MSF worker in Khan Younis.
“Two million without options”
Most of the 1.8 million internally displaced persons in Gaza have sought refuge in southern Gaza, where they are currently living in conditions described as terrible. Many civilians have been displaced several times since October 7 and, according to the medical organization, have nowhere to go.
– In a military campaign that has lasted weeks, with only a brief respite, the speed and scale of the bombing continue to plumb the depths of brutality. Almost two million people are left without options. The only solution is an immediate and sustained ceasefire and the unrestricted supply of aid to the entirety of the Gaza strip, concluded Chris Hook.
