As violence continues at distribution sites set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in Gaza, more and more Palestinians are being killed or injured while trying to reach desperately needed food and aid.
But as the numbers of casualties rise, Israeli forces’ evacuation orders now cover blocks that include Nasser Hospital, which houses the last functioning intensive care units for children and newborns in the south of the Strip. This hospital is the last hope for many Palestinians in need of urgent medical care who are living under constant bombardment and displacement.
Here, Jose Mas, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) head of emergency programs in Gaza, shares an update on the situation, and on how a recent attack that cut off access to the internet is putting all humanitarian coordination at risk.
“Our teams in Gaza are witnessing another chaotic day as the carnage at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution sites continues unabated, internet connection is cut off at mass scale after an attack that hit communication lines, and Israeli forces issued new displacement orders for blocks that include Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
“On June 11, the MSF-supported Al-Mawasi primary health care clinic received 32 casualties including three dead on arrival. The ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] field hospital received 160 casualties including five dead on arrival and three with severe wounds who were declared dead shortly after. Today, the ICRC field hospital saw 125 people wounded with three declared dead upon arrival. Most of those killed and wounded are Palestinians that were seeking urgent assistance at GHF distribution sites.
“The delivery of supplies by private logistics and security firms, as well as local armed actors under the guise of aid—disregarding humanitarian principles, imposing access restrictions on humanitarian agencies in terms of movements and supplies, and constantly displacing the population … is pushing Gaza’s fragile social order to the brink of collapse.
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Read more“The partial loss of communication has dealt another severe blow to the already-decimated humanitarian and medical response, putting the lives of our patients and staff at imminent risk. We have barely heard from our teams in Gaza for over 12 hours. The lack of internet and limited phone connections makes it even harder for humanitarian and medical teams to coordinate movements of staff and supplies, call ambulances, and manage our teams’ security in one of the world’s deadliest war zones.
“Moreover, the possibility of Nasser Hospital being subjected to bombardment or damaged by attacks in the area, or hardly being accessible anymore, is harrowing. Nasser Hospital has wards that cannot be moved without putting patients' lives at grave danger, as their specialist equipment cannot be found anywhere else in southern Gaza, including incubators for the 17 babies currently in intensive care. The hospital is already functioning over capacity, as are other hospitals in Gaza.”
