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SvennoJ on 14 May 2024
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MSF ceases services at Rafah hospital amid Israeli attacks

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, says in a statement that it has been “forced to stop providing healthcare at Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital” as of Sunday.

“MSF has seen a pattern of systematic attacks against medical facilities and civilian infrastructure since the beginning of the war. In light of this, as well as the advancing offensive, we have made the decision to leave Rafah Indonesian Field hospital,” the statement continued.

It said the 22 patients who remained at the hospital have been referred to other facilities and MSF can “no longer guarantee their safety”.

In a separate X post, the organisation said that since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, its personnel have been forced to leave 12 “health structures” and have endured 26 “violent attacks”.

In the morning, Israeli forces pushed deeper into eastern Rafah as it expanded its military operation in the southern Gaza city, a move that nearly all of its closest allies, including the US, do not support.

There are more than 1 million Palestinians, many of whom were displaced from other parts of the Strip, sheltering in Rafah.


Displaced Palestinians walking kilometres for water

As Israel’s military pushes deeper into Rafah, more displaced Palestinians are being forced into areas of Gaza that are already devastated by the war, including the battered southern city of Khan Younis.

One man said he had returned to Khan Younis, where much of the infrastructure is decimated due to Israeli attacks, after previously fleeing to Rafah.

“There are no water, electricity nor sewage services” in Khan Younis, the displaced man was quoted as saying by UNRWA. “We walk 2 to 3km [1.2 to 1.9 miles] to fill two jerrycans [of water], and those two jerrycans are not enough to meet the needs of the family.”

‘We are paying the price for a war that we have nothing to do with’

British charity Save the Children has issued a statement with the account of a staff member in Gaza describing the dire conditions faced by its forcibly displaced population:

“This is the fifth time we have been forced to move, following the new relocation orders. We were first displaced from Gaza to Khan Younis, then to different areas in Rafah, and now to Deir el-Balah. This is destroying us mentally. I have a son with me, and my mother who is 70 years old. Every time we start to get used to a place, we are forced to move again.

“My mother has diabetes and high blood pressure. She’s lacking the medication she needs but we can’t find it anywhere. It feels like we are being killed slowly. Our children are missing out on their life, education, they are experiencing lack of stability, forced displacement, fear. I can’t explain what it feels like living through this for the fifth time. We are paying the price for a war that we have nothing to do with.”