Yesterday, May 28, 21 Palestinians were killed and 64 more injured after Israeli forces bombed a camp for displaced people in Al-Mawasi, in southern Gaza. Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) continues to call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire as designated “safe zones” are repeatedly attacked.
“All of last night, we heard clashes, bombings, and rockets being fired. Nobody knows what exactly is happening,” says Dr. Safa Jaber, an MSF gynecologist who, along with her family, is living in the Tal Al-Sultan camp for displaced people in Rafah. “We are scared for our children, scared for ourselves. We were not expecting this to happen suddenly. Where shall we go? We are struggling to find the basics that every human being needs to stay alive.”
Listen to this voice memo from MSF staff member Dr. Safa Jaber for an urgent update about the current situation on the ground in Gaza >>
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This attack occurred just days after medical staff and patients at an MSF-supported trauma stabilization point in Tal Al-Sultan were forced to flee due to intensified hostilities in Rafah. This evacuation effectively halted all medical activities in the facility. Staff in Tal Al-Sultan reported 180 wounded people and 31 dead, with patients suffering from severe burns, shrapnel wounds, fractures, and other traumatic injuries.
“Women and children were among the people that were brought to the stabilization point, and once again, civilians are paying the price of this war,” said Samuel Johann, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza. “The health system has been decimated and cannot cope any longer.”
Nearly eight months into this war, there is no longer a single health care facility in Gaza that has the capacity to handle a mass casualty event. Nearly all hospitals in Rafah have been forcibly evacuated, and are either out of service or barely functioning. This leaves millions of people with little to no access to medical care.
MSF reiterates its call for all warring parties to respect and protect medical facilities, health care staff, and patients. We continue to call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire now.
Sincerely,
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières
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