Gaza war response in 2023
MSF teams continue to provide specialized medical services in Gaza, which has been under Israeli-Egyptian blockade for over 17 years. For the latest on our operations in the Strip, see how we’re responding to the war in Gaza.
In 2023, our teams supported the local health care system through three hospitals, outpatient clinics, and a main laboratory that provided microbiological analysis services. Activities up to that point included comprehensive care for burns and trauma patients, which involved surgery, physiotherapy, psychological support, occupational therapy, and health education.
However, everything changed on October 7, when Israel launched a heavy offensive on Palestine in response to Hamas's attacks on Israeli soil. As a result of the intense and indiscriminate bombing of Gaza, MSF teams struggled to maintain medical activities while ensuring their own safety.
Due to the situation, international staff were evacuated to the south of Gaza but were blocked there for weeks before being allowed to leave through the Rafah border crossing. Palestinian staff continued to work under imminent threat, providing care in extremely difficult circumstances. Hospitals in Gaza City were overwhelmed with patients and refugees seeking shelter. Women, children, and the elderly made up a large proportion of the dead and wounded.
The Israeli authorities imposed a complete siege on the Strip, delaying the entry of food, medical materials, drugs, and humanitarian aid. When supplies were eventually allowed in, they were insufficient to meet the needs of the population. Surgeons had to operate without anesthesia, and emergency care became increasingly difficult. Treatment for non-life-threatening conditions effectively stopped.
MSF made repeated calls for a lasting ceasefire to spare civilian lives in Gaza. However, health care facilities came under attack, and casualties among medical staff increased. MSF mourned the loss of staff members and the destruction of many hospitals in Gaza.
At the end of the year, MSF regrouped to develop and adapt activities in southern Gaza, but these areas also came under intense fire. The number of people killed increased daily, and over one million displaced individuals gathered in the south, living in precarious conditions. The threat of malnutrition loomed larger as food and water shortages persisted.
By the end of December, MSF was operational in six hospitals and one general health care facility in Gaza. Only a few colleagues remained in a northern Gaza hospital, providing surgical and wound care, physiotherapy, outpatient consultations, and mental health services.
West Bank
The impact of the October 7 attacks is being felt across the West Bank, where occupation-related violence has been increasing. Jenin refugee camp has experienced several attacks by Israeli forces, resulting in casualties and deaths. In 2023, MSF teams continued to offer emergency, lifesaving services at Khalil Suleiman Hospital and witnessed the extreme violence used by Israeli forces.
MSF maintained mental health activities in Hebron, Nablus, Qalqilya, and Tubas, providing psychological support, psychotherapy, and psychiatric services to those affected by violence. However, the violence often disrupted individual, group, and family therapy sessions, making movement dangerous for both patients and MSF staff.
Until September 2023, MSF operated in multiple locations in Hebron's old city and Masafer Yatta, where residents faced forcible displacement and home demolitions.
Due to the escalation of violence after October 7, people in Hebron governorate have faced difficulties accessing health care, and movement restrictions have prevented health care staff from reaching their workplaces. In response, MSF has scaled up activities in November, including by running mobile clinics in eight locations across Hebron and Masafer Yatta.
