Since the end of January, a gradual exchange of prisoners and hostages between Israel and Hamas has been taking place. This is part of the first phase of a ceasefire which also allows for greater humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Approximately 300-400 trucks enter daily, carrying food, water, and medicines. However, this is merely a drop in the ocean given the immense scale of needs after 15 months of uninterrupted Israeli military attacks. The healthcare system in the Gaza Strip is practically non-existent, with around 15,000 sick and injured people requiring medical evacuation.
The ceasefire, which came into effect on 19th January, primarily calls for an end to hostilities and the exchange of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas on 7th October 2023, for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. This is the first of three phases of the ceasefire, the progress of which will depend on the implementation of the subsequent phases. During the 15 months war, at least 47,5 thousand people have died, as reported by Gaza’s Health Ministry, and over 111 thousand injured. Israeli attacks have resulted in the destruction of 60-70% of the buildings. Data from OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) shows that 92% of residential buildings have been destroyed, either entirely or partially. This means that nearly 1.9 million people are in need of shelter.
Draginja Nadaždin, General Director of Doctors Without Borders in Poland, told Newseria that the ceasefire in Gaza brings hope to many residents that they can finally breathe from the continuous shelling and fear about what is happening to their loved ones. Many have tried to return to their former homes to see the state of their houses, only to find that they are no longer existent. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the ceasefire, Doctors Without Borders and other humanitarian organizations on the ground are managing to distribute more aid than during the shelling.
In an agreement facilitated by Qatar, Egypt, and the USA, Israel has allowed the import of humanitarian aid. According to an OCHA report from early February, over a million people received food aid within a few days of the ceasefire. Before the war’s escalation, about 500 trucks entered Gaza daily with fuel, food, water, and medicines for the needy. After 7th October 2023, aid was blocked by Israel, with only a small percentage reaching the Palestinians previously.
Only a few trucks could cross the border due to controls and decisions by the Israeli military, which was stationed at the borders. Now, more aid is reaching, with approximately 300-400 trucks daily. Nevertheless, the destruction since October 2023 is vast, and the people’s needs are enormous, as infrastructure and homes are destroyed, medicines are lacking, there are no regular pharmacies as they too have been destroyed, and medical equipment in clinics is missing- says Draginja Nadaždin.
OCHA reports that in the Gaza Strip, 18 out of 36 hospitals (all only partially operational) and 55 out of 141 clinics (only seven fully functioning) are running. Most health centers run by UNRWA (The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) have also been destroyed.
A lack of access to healthcare facilities, medical equipment, and drugs deepens the dramatic health situation of Palestinians, 90% of whom had to leave their homes in over a year of war and seek shelter elsewhere, often moving from place to place multiple times.
During the war in Gaza, people with various chronic diseases could not receive normal therapy, normal procedures that could help them. That’s why it is estimated, based on information from the World Health Organization, that over 15,000 residents of Gaza need medical evacuation, as healthcare on the spot, even now after the ceasefire, is not possible- emphasizes the general director of Doctors Without Borders in Poland. These are people who have been injured and need procedures or rehabilitation, people suffering from having been in places where buildings were being destroyed, and the healthcare system infrastructure needs complete reconstruction.
From May 2024 until January 15th, only 458 patients, including 276 children, had been medically evacuated. In recent days, this number has gradually increased. OCHA indicates that in the first three days of February, 105 wounded and sick people were evacuated to Egypt.
Treatment of chronic diseases and wounds from airstrikes and shelling remains a significant challenge, as does dealing with diseases resulting from starvation, malnutrition, lack of access to drinking water, and infectious diseases. Doctors Without Borders, in their report “Gaza: life in a lethal trap,” indicate that forced displacement has pushed people into inhumane and unhygienic living conditions, where diseases spread quickly. Their teams treat a large number of people for skin diseases, respiratory infections, and diarrhea. Children lack basic vaccines, exposing them to diseases such as measles and polio. These factors cause the death toll related to the war to be likely much higher.
For us, the challenge is to reach those people that we have not yet reached, because despite the ceasefire, it is not the case that international organizations are allowed to reach all parts of the Gaza Strip. At this time, we focused on using our experience to provide people with drinking water, get to as many people as possible with medicines and our medical teams, who provide medical aid- explains Draginja Nadaždin. Providing drinking water at this point is very problematic; there are very few points where it can be collected. Water treatment plants do not work; there are also missing parts for such plants and enough fuel to produce electricity in generators.
The Doctors Without Borders report mentions that in the first year of the war, their staff conducted over 27,5 thousand consultations related to violence and 7,5 thousand surgical interventions, experienced 41 attacks, including air raids, shelling of facilities and convoys, and had to evacuate patients and medical staff urgently on 17 occasions, often in a direct threat to life. Only three of their facilities have been able to resume operations.
During this war in the Gaza Strip, many humanitarian and medical workers have died, including nine Palestinian colleagues from Doctors Without Borders. It is an unacceptable situation when people who should be especially protected in such situations die because they provide help and heal people- says the General Director of the organization in Poland.
Even if the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip ended today, the long-term consequences would still be unprecedented due to the scale of destruction and the huge challenge of providing medical care in this area. Many injured are at risk of infection, amputation, and permanent disability, and many will require many years of rehabilitative care.
In addition to these are the psychological traumas caused by extreme violence, loss of loved ones and homes, forced displacement, and inhumane living conditions.
