Doctors Without Borders: We know what happened in 2014 and in 2021, thousands died. But this time it’s different

Doctors Without Borders points out that approximately 2.2 million people are currently trapped in the Gaza Strip, where indiscriminate bombing has turned a chronic humanitarian crisis into a disaster. More than 300 Doctors Without Borders workers are currently in Gaza, some of whom have lost their homes or family members. It is almost impossible for them to move around.

– Fighter planes are destroying entire streets, building by building. There is nowhere to hide, no time to rest. Some places are bombed night after night. We know what happened in 2014 and in 2021, thousands died. Each time, our medical workers go to work, not knowing whether they will see their homes and families again. But they say this time is different. This time, after five days, 1,200 people had already died. What can people do? Where should they go, says Matthias Kennes, head of Doctors Without Borders operations in Gaza.

Doctors Without Borders calls for the establishment of safe spaces, the entry of humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza, the ability to provide medical care to the injured and sick, and the protection of medical facilities and medical workers.

– In Ministry of Health hospitals, medical staff report that they are running out of anesthetics and painkillers. From Doctors Without Borders, we transferred supplies from our two-month emergency reserves to Al Awda Hospital and used three weeks of supplies in three days, says Darwin Diaz, medical coordinator of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza.

Doctors Without Borders employees, including medical staff, have had very limited movement since Saturday. They are unable to gain safe passage to treat the injured. Two hospitals supported by Doctors Without Borders, Al Awda and Indonesian Hospital, were damaged in airstrikes, and a Doctors Without Borders clinic suffered damage in an explosion on Monday. On October 10, Doctors Without Borders reopened its operating room in Al-Shifa to receive burn and trauma patients.

Doctors Without Borders has been operating in Palestine since 1989.

Source: Doctors Without Borders