Friend,
It is thanks to your compassion and generous support for our medical humanitarian work that we are able to save lives every day in more than 70 countries around the world. Today, I'm writing to share with you why Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for a sustained ceasefire in Gaza.
Earlier this week, on behalf of MSF, our staff, and our patients, we sent an open letter urgently requesting that President Biden and the United States call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza. In our letter, MSF is calling on the Biden administration to uphold its stated commitments to international humanitarian law and use its influence to secure an end to the widespread and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, forced displacement, and siege of Gaza.
My colleagues and I at MSF were horrified by the attacks on civilians in Israel by Hamas militants on October 7. And we are horrified by Israel's disproportionate attacks on civilians. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza, 6,150 of them children. 1.8 million people have been displaced, and thousands more have been wounded.
Our colleagues are running out of words to describe the extent of the pain and suffering they are witnessing in overcrowded hospitals right now.
Humanitarian and medical workers have not been spared from the disproportionate violence of this conflict. We are grieving for four of our colleagues in Palestine who were killed while working to save lives in their communities. Many more of our staff have been injured, the ambulances and health care facilities in which we work have been attacked, and our clearly marked MSF humanitarian vehicles have been destroyed.
The situation in Gaza is only becoming more horrific each day.
As an impartial and independent medical humanitarian organization, our mandate is to save lives and alleviate suffering. MSF has delivered medical aid in many high-intensity conflicts over more than 50 years, yet rarely have we encountered such a catastrophic combination of escalating humanitarian and medical needs, ravaged infrastructure, and intentionally limited humanitarian access. We are specialized in delivering aid in these complex settings, but it is impossible for us to operate at scale in Gaza.
Thank you as always for your generosity and compassion. We need a sustained ceasefire now to protect civilians, end the siege, and provide humanitarian medical care. Read our open letter in full.
Avril Benoît
Executive Director
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières USA
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