MSF Warns of Dire Medical Conditions in Gaza and Sudan Despite Ceasefires

MSF Warns of Dire Medical Conditions in Gaza and Sudan Despite Ceasefires
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Gaza’s hospitals continue to face severe shortages and substandard care nearly two months into a US-backed truce, according to Arab News quoting Javid Abdelmoneim, president of medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Speaking at the Doha Forum, Abdelmoneim said medical staff are operating under extreme conditions, with inferior drugs and materials, leading to compromised patient care.

The truce, agreed in October between Israel and Hamas, was intended to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, Abdelmoneim described it as a “ceasefire of sorts,” noting that dozens of Palestinians continue to be killed daily, with 376 fatalities reported since the truce, alongside three Israeli soldier deaths. He criticized the slow flow of aid, calling it “weaponized” and used as leverage, echoing MSF’s 2024 report citing evidence of genocide, which Israel rejected.

Medical infrastructure remains inadequate due to destroyed hospitals and insufficient field hospital deployment, resulting in higher infection rates, longer stays, and greater complications.

Abdelmoneim also highlighted the dangers faced by medical staff in Sudan, where paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized El-Fasher in North Darfur, reportedly killing over 460 patients at a maternity hospital and abducting six health workers. Recent RSF attacks on Kalogi struck a children’s nursery and hospital, killing civilians.

MSF urges unrestricted humanitarian access and protection for medical workers in both Gaza and Sudan, supporting UN calls for independent investigations into human rights violations.