Today, a 29-day-old baby died at Nasser hospital, southern Gaza, Palestine, just two hours after arriving at the MSF- supported paediatric ward in the early hours of the morning. Despite treatment efforts, he could not be saved. According to the Ministry of Health, he died from hypothermia.
"Children are losing their lives because they lack the most basic items for survival. Babies are arriving to the hospital cold, with near-death vital signs: even our best efforts are not enough. They say the war has ended, but people are still having to fight for their lives," says Bilal Abu Saada-Nursing Team Supervisor at Nasser Hospital.
The harsh winter weather combined with the already dire living conditions is increasing health risks and MSF teams are consistently seeing high rates of respiratory infections - something which will only increase throughout winter and is particularly dangerous for children under five-years old
As Gaza is battered by heavy rains and storms, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians continue to struggle in flooded and broken makeshift tents. MSF calls on Israeli authorities to urgently allow a massive scale up of aid into the Strip.
🔴After two years of war in Gaza, the medical humanitarian needs across the Strip are enormous.
Join us in Dublin on November 5 to hear the first-hand experiences of MSF staff, including two doctors who lived and worked through the war.
Register➡️: https://t.co/xqcCw3os2C
🔴Gaza is not just a humanitarian catastrophe - it's the systematic destruction of a people.
MSF is clear: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Doctors can't stop this genocide. But world leaders can.
🔗 Read more: https://t.co/X4iaE2l2dx
📢 STOP THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed the conditions necessary for life in Gaza. Nowhere is safe.
World leaders must act to end their complicity in this genocide.
Doctors can't stop genocide, world leaders can.
https://t.co/X4iaE2l2dx
Earlier today, Israeli strikes hit Nasser hospital in Gaza, killing at least 20 people. Among those killed was Miriam Abu Dagga, a freelance photographer who frequently worked with us.
We are heartbroken by her death.
Below are photos she took while on assignments with us, documenting how healthcare staff are working tirelessly to care for people as Israel pursues genocide in Gaza.
This is one of many attacks blocking vital aid. In 2 years of conflict, @WHO recorded 156 attacks on healthcare, causing 318 deaths & 273 injuries.
#WorldHumanitarianDay#HospitalNotATarget
On 16 Aug, MSF had to reduce teams & suspend all activities at Zalingei Hospital, Central Darfur, Sudan after a violent armed assault inside the facility. A hand grenade in front of the emergency room killed 1 person & injured 5, including a MoH staff member under MSF incentives.
Yesterday, six children arrived at our reconstructive surgery hospital in Jordan after being evacuated from Gaza, in coordination with the Jordanian Ministry of Health. Among them is the five-year-old son of an MSF staff member who was injured in a blast amidst the ongoing violence.
Two of the newly arrived patients are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a direct consequence of the prolonged siege on Gaza, and the deliberate starvation of the people trapped there. The patients, aged 17 and 12, have been placed on a gradual feeding protocol to help stabilise their condition and prevent complications.
“One of the young boys who arrived at the hospital was clutching water bottles, terrified of losing them. This small act speaks volumes about the deprivation of food and water in Gaza, and the trauma children are facing,” says Daad Mnezil, MSF mental health activity manager.
Since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal campaign on Gaza, we have received only 32 children through medical evacuation to our specialised hospital in Jordan – a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the massive needs. According to WHO, more than 14,800 people are in urgent need of medical evacuation.
We call on the Israeli authorities to ensure medical evacuations for all Palestinians in need of medical care, including their caretakers, while ensuring that all patients and their caregivers are guaranteed a safe, voluntary and dignified return to Gaza. At the same time, Israel must immediately and unconditionally lift its siege on Gaza and allow lifesaving humanitarian aid to flow freely and safely to those in need.
🚨 In a report issued on Thursday, Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) accused the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of “institutional starvation and dehumanisation”. @IrishTimes
Read more here: https://t.co/548KDh1ZPz
Israeli forces have been scaling up military operations in northern Gaza, especially in Gaza City and Jabaliya. On 27 June, an airstrike hit the home of an MSF surgeon and data analyst in Gaza City. The couple were wounded along with their 3 children. 1/6
Patients, including children like 9-year-old Khalil, 8-year-old Kareem and 4-year-old Julia, now endure multiple transfers to get the care they need. While they were receiving treatment in Al Aqsa hospital compound, the facility was struck. 5/6
🚨 Médecins Sans Frontières states the Gaza Humanitarian Fund is forcing Palestinians “to choose between starvation or risking their lives for minimal supplies”.
🔴Read more on @thejournal_ie about the affect on Palestinians lives in Gaza and West Bank:
https://t.co/futuKTXaAy
4/4 “In this horrific situation, nothing can replace Nasser, the last remaining lifeline in the South,” warns Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator. “But the hospital is over-capacity and running on limited supplies, it is dangerously close to breaking point.”
1/4 On 17 June, the bodies of 59 killed Palestinians and over 200 wounded were brought to Nasser hospital. People were injured while they tried to receive flour rations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health.
3/4 Every day Palestinians are met with carnage in their attempts to receive supplies from the insufficient amount of aid trickling into Gaza. “I saw people torn to pieces; it's a disaster. Seeking food should not be a death sentence.” Dr. Wafaa Abu Nemer, MSF paediatrician.