Burn patients in Gaza enduring ‘excruciating pain with limited or no relief’
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) says its teams on the ground has seen an increase in the number of patients with burn injuries since Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18.
Most of them are children.
But as Israeli authorities continue to maintain their siege on Gaza, blocking access to basic aid and medicine, including pain killers, many patients have been “left to endure excruciating pain with limited or no relief”, the group said.
“Children scream as we are forced to peel burned fabric from their skin,” said Dr Ahmad Abu Warda, an MSF medical activity manager working at Nasser Hospital.
“They beg us to stop, but if we don’t remove the dead tissue, infection and sepsis can lead to death. Without enough medical supplies, and with too many patients needing care for burn injuries, we are not able to provide proper care. We are merely delaying inevitable infections.”
With farmland destroyed, aid blocked, Gaza’s food supplies dwindling fast
Israel imposed an aid blockade on the Gaza Strip on March 2, two weeks before shattering a ceasefire by resuming military operations on March 18.
Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” that endangers the territory’s entire population and a potential war crime. Markets across Gaza are nearly bare, and charity kitchens are running out of food. Meat, milk, cheese and fruit have vanished. Vegetables, when found, are priced beyond reach.
In tent camps, displaced families boil cans of peas and carrots over wood fires for their only daily meal. Doctors are warning that the lack of protein and nutrients is already causing a sharp increase in child malnutrition and thousands are suffering acute cases. At one market, tomatoes now sell for 50 shekels a kilo, nearly $14, compared with less than $1 before the war.
Number of people killed in Gaza rises
The Health Ministry has released its latest daily update on the number of casualties in Israel’s war on Gaza. In a statement, it said a total of 51 bodies were brought to hospitals across Gaza in the past 24 hours, with 115 people wounded during the period.
It added that “an additional 697 martyrs have been added to the cumulative statistics after their data was completed and verified by the committee monitoring missing persons”.
The figures take the overall death toll since October 7, 2023, to at least 52,423, with 117,639 wounded.
Israeli air attacks intensify
The demolition of homes is still taking place in Rafah and the eastern side of Gaza City. Over the past hour, we have also recorded a major surge in Israeli attacks, not just on the central areas, but in the north as well.
Israeli fighter jets have targeted two areas in Deir el-Balah with two consecutive air strikes. The first one took place on agricultural land in the western end of the city with no casualties reported.
The second targeted a group of civilians close to one of the central malls in a very densely populated area. According to medical sources in Al-Aqsa Hospital, four Palestinians were killed in the attack, and local civilians and ambulances transported other casualties. The strike left behind a significant level of destruction on the street that was targeted without any prior warning.
In Khan Younis, a makeshift tent was struck by three drone missiles. Among the casualties are three children and a woman.
Gaza authorities say Israel is deliberately killing civilians
The Gaza Government Media Office accuses Israel of systemically targeting civilians in Gaza as part of its “war of extermination” against Palestinians.
The office provided details about the numbers of people killed by Israel:
- 18,000 children
- 12,400 women
- 1,400 medics
- 212 journalists
- 750 security officers who guarded aid convoys
