The night of May 26, Israeli airstrikes struck a camp housing displaced persons in a designated safe zone, resulting in 180 wounded patients and 28 fatalities, according to the trauma stabilization station Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) supports in Tal al Sultan, Gaza. The majority of the patients we saw had burns, severe injuries, fractures, and shrapnel wounds.
Just a few days after Israel was ordered to cease all military activities in Rafah by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), MSF vehemently condemns this brutal attack. We once again demand an immediate and comprehensive cessation of hostilities.
The number of people killed as a result of these attacks contradicts the Israeli military’s description of this attack as precise, even though some civilians were hurt.
According to Samuel Johann, the MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza, “women and children were among the people that were brought to the stabilization point, and once again, civilians are paying the price of this war.” “This Israeli attack on a populated camp in a Rafah “safe zone” demonstrates their total disrespect for the lives of Gaza’s civilian population.”
The ongoing attacks on civilians astound us, and there are no adequate words to express the tragedy of what we have witnessed in Gaza. In a phone message from Gaza, MSF nurse activity manager Gaia Giletta stated, “This has to stop.” Many of these instances include serious, complicated injuries that call for specialized medical attention not found in Gaza. Because the border is blocked, we are unable to transport these patients.
A mass casualty incident like this one cannot be handled by a single medical institution in Gaza, Johann continued, “even though all the patients were stabilized and referred to field hospitals in Rafah.” “The health system can no longer function due to its decimation.”
