Three questions about the apocalyptic situation in Gaza

MSF also works in southern Gaza, where over 1.7 million people are concentrated. What are people’s living conditions and the consequences of the onset of winter?

That’s 1.7 million people piled on top of each other in the rain, in the mud, with hunger in their stomachs and bombs falling on them. It’s catastrophic. 

Winter came quickly and the shelters aren’t ready after a year of being exposed to sun, wind, and rain. They are not at all adapted to the cold or the torrential rains we’ve seen in Gaza over the last few weeks. Some areas have been completely flooded, and the tents by the sea have also been partially submerged.  

The Israeli authorities’ obstruction of the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial trucks is causing shortages, particularly of food. Markets are beginning to empty, bakeries are closing, and prices are rising. A small loaf of bread that cost a few cents a few weeks ago now costs 5 shekels (just over €1). In this context, malnutrition is truly a growing concern.

The whole situation is creating very strong tensions within communities and families, which have sometimes ended in violence. The population is on edge.

Teams are trying to meet medical needs, particularly at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, which is permanently full. We also have the field hospital that MSF has set up in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, where teams offer paediatric care, sexual and reproductive healthcare for pregnant women, physiotherapy, and general medical consultations. Preparations are underway to increase the number of beds, in view of the likely increase in the number of sick children due to the cold weather and living conditions.  

Gaza today means cold, hunger and bombs. We need a ceasefire at all costs, a massive and unrestricted influx of aid to put an end to the suffering of thousands of people, the majority of whom are women and children – who also account for the majority of deaths in this war.