Gaza‘s healthcare system has been “reduced to ashes,” with much of its medical infrastructure destroyed by over 15 months of Israeli bombardment, the international NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported this week.
Despite a fragile ceasefire in place between Israel and Hamas, MSF said the enclave was almost uninhabitable and large swathes of the Strip were destroyed by heavy and relentless Israeli bombardment.
MSF teams entered northern Gaza since the ceasefire to assess the area which was under a full siege by Israeli forces for months.
“The situation is appalling. There is nothing left,” the team’s emergency coordinator Caroline Seguin said in a report published this week.
The level of destruction was “total”, leaving the land completely flattened, she added, noting that some Palestinian staff members no longer recognised their own neighbourhoods.
 “[There are] only ruins and the smell of death everywhere because of the dead bodies still trapped under the rubble,” Seguin she added.
Hospitals in the north have been decimated, leaving wounded Palestinians at even greater risk as they struggle to find medical treatment.
MSF confirmed that Kamal Adwan Hospital, a key facility for treating patients, has been razed, while al-Shifa, al-Awda, and Indonesian hospitals have suffered severe damage.
“We were utterly shocked to see that in the Indonesian hospital, every medical machine appeared to have been deliberately destroyed; they were smashed to pieces, one by one, ensuring that no medical care could be provided,” the MSF report said.
Since the ceasefire went into effect, Hamas has repeatedly called on Israel to comply with the terms of the deal and allow aid into the besieged enclave, as well as heavy machinery to help remove rubble.
The group has also pushed Israel to allow a certain number of Palestinians to evacuate from Gaza, as stipulated by the deal.
Currently, the healthcare system is insufficient to cater for the significant needs on the ground.
Across Gaza City and north Gaza, there are only six paediatric intensive care beds left, compared to 150 before the war.
There remains a critical need for medicine, water and shelter, with Israeli authorities blocking aid at the Rafah crossing.
Multiple rights organisations have urged Israel and the international community to ensure aid is delivered.
Many Palestinians have been forced to sleep out in the cold amid dropping temperatures and harsh conditions, after finding that their homes have been destroyed.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 61,709 Palestinians since 7 October 2023 while 14,222 are believed to be still trapped under the rubble. At least 884 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in the same time frame, the Palestinian health ministry and government media office reported.
