Another hospital in Gaza forced to close amid intensified Israeli offensive in Rafah

“We have had to leave 12 different health structures and have endured 26 violent incidents, which include airstrikes damaging hospitals, tanks being fired at agreed deconflicted shelters, ground offensives into medical centres, and convoys fired upon,” says Michel-Olivier Lacharité, MSF head of emergency operations.

The health system is being dismantled resulting in devastating consequences for people trapped in Gaza. According to OCHA, 24 out of the 36 hospitals in Gaza are now out of service. MSF is trying to establish field hospitals elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, but these few structures will not be able to cope with a massive influx of wounded civilians, on top of overwhelming medical needs. They can in no way replace a functional health system.

Prior to evacuating the hospital, MSF had been offering post-operative care for war-wounded patients since mid-December 2023. Our teams worked on providing care to people in the 60-bed hospital, where surgeons undertook approximately 35 procedures per week in the operating theatre.

Inpatient and outpatient care ran six days a week, with about 130 consultations a day, with teams providing dressing changes, physiotherapy, and counselling. The Ministry of Health has also been forced to move its activities from Rafah Indonesian Field hospital, resulting in the closure of the entire hospital.