Medical charity MSF has condemned the killing of its tenth staff member in Gaza amid Israel’s renewed bombing campaign, calling for the protection of civilians and unhindered access to humanitarian aid. [Getty]
Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has condemned Israel’s killing of a Palestinian worker affiliated with the group in Gaza amid the organisation’s ongoing condemnation of Israel’s renewed bombing campaign, which has significantly raised the enclave’s casualty toll.
MSF issued a statement on Friday, announcing the death of 29-year-old Alaa Abd-Elsalam Ali Okal, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his apartment building in central Gaza’s Deir Al Balah.
The group stated that Okal’s death marks the tenth MSF colleague killed by Israel’s brutal assault on the war-ravaged territory.
“Alaa Okal joined MSF as a laundry worker in September 2024 and played an important role in supporting people in need of medical care at MSF’s field hospital in Deir Al Balah,” MSF said.
“We condemn the killing of our colleague and call yet again for the respect and protection of civilians,” it added.
MSF has consistently raised concerns about the devastating effects of more than 16 months of attacks on civilians, including the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure, such as healthcare facilities.
The organisation has reported that its staff have been subjected to over 40 attacks and violent incidents, including airstrikes, shelling, violent incursions into health facilities, direct fire on shelters and convoys, and arbitrary detention by Israeli forces.
In December of last year, MSF also revealed that both medical personnel and patients had been forced to evacuate health facilities urgently on 17 separate occasions.
Following Israel’s renewed assault on Gaza on Tuesday, which shattered the relative calm since the January 19 ceasefire, MSF urged Israel on Wednesday to restore the ceasefire by halting “its campaign of destruction and the nightmarish, massive bombing.”
MSF said it was “horrified” by the attacks launched by Israel, which broke the two-month-old ceasefire and resulted in hundreds of deaths.
Claire Magone, General Director of MSF France, stated that Israel’s actions amount to collective punishment of the people of Gaza.
Last week, MSF accused Israel of “instrumentalising humanitarian needs” by halting aid and cutting off electricity to the Strip in an attempt to pressure Hamas into agreeing to release the remaining hostages.
MSF Emergency Coordinator Myriam Laaroussi condemned the tactic, saying, “Israeli authorities are yet again normalising the use of aid as a negotiation tool. This is outrageous. Humanitarian aid should never be used as a bargaining chip in war.”
The organisation called for the blockade to be lifted, for people to regain unrestricted access to essential supplies, and for patients in need of urgent medical care to be allowed to seek treatment outside Gaza.
MSF also advocated for the right of those who are injured to safely and dignifiedly return to their homes.
The recent escalation in Gaza, the deadliest since the January ceasefire, has killed over 500 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
