MSF: Gaza in "death trap" amid Israeli offensive, calls for ceasefire intensify

PARIS/BRUSSELS/BARCELONA/JERUSALEM: A scathing new report from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) describes conditions in Gaza as a "death trap," accusing Israeli forces of destroying essential infrastructure and perpetuating a devastating humanitarian crisis.

Therefore, the international medical aid organisation has urged an immediate ceasefire to halt the mounting civilian toll and facilitate aid deliveries.

“People in Gaza are enduring apocalyptic conditions, with no safe haven and no exit,” said Christopher Lockyear, MSF’s secretary general, who visited Gaza earlier this year.

The report, titled Gaza: Life in a Death Trap, alleges that recent military offensives in northern Gaza amount to ethnic cleansing, citing mass displacement, indiscriminate bombing, and deteriorating living conditions.

The report outlined the collapse of Gaza’s health care system, with fewer than half of the 36 hospitals still functional.

MSF alone has recorded 41 attacks on its facilities and staff in the past year. The organisation has performed over 7,500 surgeries during the conflict but warns of worsening disease outbreaks, malnutrition, and inadequate medical supplies.

Despite international calls for humanitarian access, MSF said Israeli authorities have systematically blocked essential aid. The number of humanitarian trucks entering Gaza in October 2024 averaged 37 per day—far below the pre-conflict daily average of 500.

“Palestinians have been killed in their homes and hospital beds, forcibly displaced, and deprived of basic necessities,” said Lockyear, reiterating MSF’s call for an immediate ceasefire.