Responding in Gaza amid an unfolding humanitarian crisis
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Dear Friend,
In times of war and conflict, it is the most vulnerable who often suffer the most—civilians are caught in the crossfire, cut off from food, clean water, shelter, and health care. Right now, our teams are witnessing this firsthand as an unprecedented humanitarian crisis unfolds in Gaza. 2.2 million people—nearly half of them children and many of them elderly, sick, or injured—are trapped in Gaza by indiscriminate bombings, turning a chronic humanitarian crisis into a catastrophe.
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) repeats its call for all parties to the Israel-Gaza conflict to ensure the safety of civilians and medical facilities. Safe spaces and safe passage for civilians must be established.
Independent donors allow MSF to scale and pivot our response to crises at a moment’s notice. From the humanitarian crisis in Palestine to earthquakes in Afghanistan, our financial independence, made possible by our donors, allows us to work in conflict zones—and to treat patients regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or politics.
The order from the Israeli military that 1.1 million people in northern Gaza leave their land, homes, and hospitals to evacuate south to an already overpopulated neighborhood with precarious access to food, water, and health care is dangerous and intolerable.
We are extremely concerned about those who are not able to move, such as people who are wounded or sick, those with disabilities, and medical staff.
The humanitarian corridor established on October 14 expired and, despite announcements of safe areas, civilians have continued to be exposed to airstrikes throughout Gaza, and the death toll continues to rise. As of this writing, more than 2,200 people have been killed in Palestine and 1,300 people have been killed in Israel. Thousands more have been injured.
Our teams are also witnessing drinking water becoming scarce in the south of the Gaza Strip, adding to the crisis.
“People came [to the south of the Gaza Strip] to seek some safety, but they are still afraid, they wonder what will happen,” says Louis Baudoin-Laarman, MSF’s Communications Manager in Gaza. “People often come to us asking if we have information, but we don't have any either. We don't know if [the bombings] will continue close by or far from here.”
MSF urgently calls for the restoration of sufficient, immediate access to drinking water for the people in Gaza, and for officials to allow humanitarian aid to flow into the region.
Without these measures, thousands more civilians will be killed, and many more will suffer—caught in the crossfire of this escalating conflict.
This email was sent from the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.
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