Without a ceasefire and without the full entry of humanitarian aid, the health system in Gaza will continue to collapse. What does this mean in practice?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4841,"template":"","actualite_type":[10],"actualite_sujet":[],"action_combat":[],"mdm_pays":[],"class_list":["post-4840","actualite","type-actualite","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","actualite_type-international-actions"],"acf":{"mise_en_avant":false,"chapeau":"Without a ceasefire and without the full entry of humanitarian aid, the health system in Gaza will continue to collapse. What does this mean in practice?","cta_type":"don","cta_lien":{"title":"Je soutiens l'aide humanitaire.","url":"https:\/\/www.jedonneenligne.org\/medecinsdumonde\/URGENCE_GAZA_2023\/","target":"_blank"},"contenu":"
Doctors of the World is calling for a ceasefire<\/strong>, as the cessation of hostilities targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, particularly health facilities, is an absolute priority given the severe humanitarian catastrophe<\/strong> and public health<\/strong> crisis in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n All parties, including Israel, must take all necessary measures to immediately guarantee full<\/strong>, unhindered and unrestricted humanitarian access<\/strong> to civilians in the Gaza Strip. In addition to food, water, medical supplies and fuel<\/strong>, sufficient quantities must enter to meet the disastrous humanitarian and health needs of the population, particularly to ensure the energy requirements of hospitals currently on the brink of collapse.<\/p>\n The unprecedented intensity of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza \u2013 the Israeli air force announced dropping 6,000 bombs<\/strong> in one week, nearly matching what the United States launched on Afghanistan in a year \u2013 has resulted in an extremely high death toll among civilians and a large number of injured. As a result, hospitals are overwhelmed<\/strong>, with a constant influx of injured patients far exceeding their maximum capacity. Observers report that surgeries are being performed on hospital floors, without anesthesia and by the light of mobile phones. Healthcare providers are working in extreme conditions.<\/strong><\/p>\n 19 hospitals<\/strong> have been damaged, of which 12 have been forced to close due to the damage sustained, lack of electricity and supplies, and\/or evacuation orders. Among these serious violations, the attack on Al Ahli Hospital on October 17, 2023, which killed hundreds of the most vulnerable people, constitutes a particularly grave violation of international humanitarian law<\/strong>, for which those responsible must be held accountable. Fifty-seven medical personnel have been killed since the escalation began, including doctors, paramedics and nurses.<\/p>\n Health facilities in the Gaza Strip<\/strong> are collapsing due to the total siege on water, food, electricity and fuel imposed on Gaza, which has exacerbated the effects of the 17-year-long blockade already in place. Hospitals rely on backup generators, which are far from sufficient to cover their electricity needs and thus severely impact their most critical functions. While even before the crisis, the right to health of Gazans<\/strong> was already compromised by the shortage of medicines due to the blockade, stocks of medicines, medical equipment and blood are now almost entirely depleted.<\/p>\n Although ambulance capacity is already insufficient, the fuel shortage<\/strong> is impacting their operation. Access to the sick and injured is also extremely difficult, given the severe damage to roads caused by the intense bombardments.<\/p>\n 22 hospitals<\/strong> in northern Gaza have repeatedly received evacuation orders from the Israeli government as part of the general evacuation order that initially called on 1.1 million people in the north<\/strong> to move to southern Gaza on Friday, October 13. Despite the displacement orders, 17 hospitals remain operational in northern Gaza, as evacuation would endanger the lives of many fragile patients: people on hemodialysis, newborns in incubators or patients in intensive care cannot be deprived of life-saving medical care. The limited humanitarian aid<\/strong> that has arrived in the Gaza Strip so far has not reached hospitals in the north. Moreover, the 1.4 million people who moved from the north to the south following the evacuation order have found no safe place, as the southern Gaza Strip continues to be heavily targeted by bombardments.<\/strong><\/p>\n The average amount of water per person per day is now 3 liters in Gaza<\/strong> (the humanitarian emergency threshold is 15 liters per day).<\/p>\n Dehydration, epidemics and additional loss of life threaten the population, particularly children and the most vulnerable. The hostilities and total blockade have completely disrupted the agri-food value chain and the refrigeration sector: food stocks are running out, and many basic food items cannot be cooked due to the lack of fuel. MdM staff in Gaza are already suffering from stomach problems due to the consumption of contaminated water and food that has not been kept cold.<\/p>\n As most of the population resorts to unsafe water sources<\/strong> for drinking, Gaza could face a potential resurgence of highly infectious diseases such as cholera. There is a high need for mental health and psychosocial support<\/strong> services in the short and long term for a large number of psychologically traumatized individuals. Nour, a psychologist from MdM France currently in Gaza, states that \"even if we survive this, we will never recover mentally.\"<\/em><\/p>","temps_lecture":5,"legende_couverture":"","signature_nom":"","signature_role":"","signature_initiales":"","signature_avatar":"","communique_lien":"","communique_libelle":"","encadre_titre":"","encadre_texte":"","partenaires_titre":"","partenaires":null,"reseaux_partage":["facebook","twitter","linkedin","email","copy"],"evenement_date":null,"evenement_type":"","evenement_lieu":"","evenement_inscription":"","presse_afficher":false,"presse_surtitre":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite\/4840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/actualite"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite\/4840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4842,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite\/4840\/revisions\/4842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"actualite_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite_type?post=4840"},{"taxonomy":"actualite_sujet","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/actualite_sujet?post=4840"},{"taxonomy":"action_combat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/action_combat?post=4840"},{"taxonomy":"mdm_pays","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medecinsdumonde.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mdm_pays?post=4840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Overwhelmed health facilities<\/h2>\n
Attacks on health infrastructure and personnel<\/h2>\n
Severe shortage of electricity and medical supplies<\/h2>\n
Obstacles to ambulance access to the sick and injured<\/h2>\n
Israeli government evacuation orders for hospitals and civilians in northern Gaza<\/h2>\n
Lack of drinking water and food<\/h2>\n
Infectious diseases<\/h2>\n