15 MSF staff enter Gaza via the Rafah crossing.
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 — Today, an MSF team of 15 international and national staff entered Gaza from Egypt via the Rafah crossing point. They will aim to support medical and surgical capacity in the Strip, where the healthcare infrastructure has collapsed, and medics are utterly exhausted. Many of our Palestinian colleagues continue to work tirelessly in support of the local health authorities across Gaza, where people with horrific wounds and severe burns are flooding the hospitals as a result of the continuous bombing.
The team is composed of medical personnel, with some coordination and logistical support. It will include surgeons, anaesthetists and intensive care specialists. They come from many different countries from all over the world.
For the time being, they will be based in the south of the Gaza Strip. The objective, at least initially, is to support existing hospitals there. Unless a ceasefire is implemented, obtaining continuous and unhindered access to people across Gaza will remain a major challenge for our team. Delivery of humanitarian aid to the North of the Strip remains extremely difficult and dangerous due to the insecurity and the unpredictability of the bombardments and ground warfare.
Healthcare must be available where it is needed the most and we must support the existing hospitals in Gaza, including those in the north that are exposed to direct and indirect hits, running out of basic medical supplies, lacking fuel and personnel. They must be protected and re-equipped to face the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. The proposed creation of a safe zone cannot pave the way for considering all the rest of the Strip as ‘fair game’. Our international team’s exact location will depend on where they'll be able to move safely, but we continue to work with our Palestinian staff too, many of whom continue to support several hospitals in the north of Gaza.
“We do everything we can to alleviate suffering in this catastrophic situation. We insist on our call for a ceasefire as an indispensable condition to end the carnage and allow aid to reach those who need it.” Christophe Garnier, Project Coordinator.