Gaza: Doctors Without Borders condemns Israeli airstrikes on displacement camp in Rafah

28/05/2024

Palestine

Displaced people walk between buildings destroyed by relentless violence and bombings in Gaza. Palestine, 6 May 2024. © MSF

On the night of 26 May, 180 wounded and 28 dead were recorded at the Trauma Stabilization Point (TSP) we support in Tal al Sultan, Gaza, after airstrikes by Israeli forces hit a camp sheltering displaced people, in a designate safe zone by Israel. Most of the patients we treated had shrapnel wounds, fractures, traumatic injuries and burns.

While Israeli forces described this attack as precise with some civilians injured, the number of casualties resulting from these airstrikes shows otherwise.

Women and children were among the people that were brought to the stabilization point, and once again, civilians are paying the price of this war. This Israeli attack on a populated camp in a so-called “safe zone” in Rafah shows the complete disregard for the lives of civilians in Gaza.

Samuel Johann, Emergency Coordinator

"Though all the patients were stabilized and referred to field hospitals in Rafah, no single health care facility in Gaza can handle a mass casualty event such as this one. The health system has been decimated and cannot cope any longer," concludes Johann.

Doctors Without Borders strongly denounces this bloody attack that comes just a few days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to halt all military operations in Rafah. We reiterate our urgent call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire.

OUR RESPONSE TO THE ISRAEL-GAZA WAR

Will you support our emergency response work?

Help us provide lifesaving medical care during emergencies by making a donation today.

Donate now

Doctors Without Borders-supported health facilities across Gaza face critical shortage of medical supplies

Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières

“Everything is missing, even the idea of a future.”

Healing psychological trauma in Gaza cannot happen until there is a ceasefire.

In Jenin and Tulkarem, Israeli forces render healthcare inaccessible when it is needed the most

Military incursions by Israeli forces in the West Bank are increasing in violence and frequency since the beginning of the

Gaza: The latest massacres in Middle Area illustrate the complete dehumanisation of Palestinians

Intensified Israeli bombing and ground attacks in Gaza over the past 10 days showcase disregard for Palestinian lives.

Gaza: “We did not have time to bury them”

On the morning of Saturday 8 June 2024, Israeli forces heavily bombed the Middle Area of the Gaza Strip, including A...

Gaza: Israel must end its campaign of death and destruction

Israeli forces have targeted refugee camps in Rafah, resulting in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. The escalation of t...

West Bank: Palestinians face increased violence and restrictions

Palestinians in the West Bank are being subjected to increasing attacks, harassment and restrictions by Israeli forces and settlers.&nb...

Gaza: Another hospital forced to close amid the intensified Israeli offensive in Rafah

Intensified Israeli attacks in Rafah forced Doctors Without Borders to cease lifesaving care at Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital on May 12.