The medical humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced that it has been forced to suspend lifesaving operations in Gaza City, as Israeli occupation forces intensified their assault, surrounding clinics and placing both patients and staff in grave danger.

“The unacceptable level of risk has led us to reluctantly decide to suspend our lifesaving activities in Gaza City,” MSF said, revealing that Israeli tanks are now positioned less than a kilometer from its medical facilities.

Jacob Granger, MSF’s emergency coordinator in Gaza, described the devastating consequences of the decision: “We have been left with no choice but to stop our activities, as our clinics are encircled by Israeli forces. This is the last thing we wanted, as the needs in Gaza City are enormous, with the most vulnerable people—infants in neonatal care, those with severe injuries and life-threatening illnesses—unable to move and in grave danger.”

The decision underscores the catastrophic impact of Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, where hospitals and clinics have been relentlessly bombed, deprived of fuel, and stripped of essential supplies in clear violation of international humanitarian law.

While Israeli orders and bombardments have displaced hundreds of thousands to the south, MSF stressed that many civilians remain trapped in Gaza City, caught between death under fire or the forced abandonment of their homes and communities. “Those who are able to leave face an impossible choice: either remain under intense military operations and the deterioration of law and order, or abandon what’s left of their houses, their belongings, and their memories,” MSF noted.

Despite the constant bombardment, MSF clinics managed over 3,600 consultations in just one week, including 1,655 cases of malnutrition, alongside treatment for trauma victims, burn patients, pregnant women, and the critically ill. But the group warned that Gaza’s hospitals are already on the verge of collapse, with dwindling staff, scarce medical supplies, and almost no fuel to keep generators running.

“People in Gaza City have been repeatedly and relentlessly bombed. They are exhausted and are being deliberately deprived of the essentials needed to survive,” MSF emphasized, condemning Israel’s policy of collective punishment.

MSF reiterated its urgent call for an immediate ceasefire, demanding that Israel grant unhindered access and security for humanitarian organizations to operate in Gaza, and to allow safe and sustained delivery of medical aid.

While forced to suspend its lifesaving work in Gaza City, the organization confirmed it is still supporting hospitals and clinics in central and southern Gaza, including Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

The suspension of MSF’s operations highlights not only the scale of Israel’s deliberate targeting of healthcare but also the silence of the so-called “international community” that continues to enable genocide through complicity and inaction. (ILKHA)