Doctors can't stop genocide - World leaders can
The UN human rights office said on August 1 that 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while waiting for aid in the shortage-stricken Gaza Strip since late May, most of them by the Israeli military.
Image: Bashar Taleb / AFP
Gaza is not just a humanitarian catastrophe - it is the systematic destruction of a people. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) also known as Doctors Without Borders is clear: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health (MoH), more than 64,000 people have been killed, including 20,000 children. The toll is likely far higher, with many more thought to be trapped under the rubble.
There is no safe place in Gaza. Even though health facilities have a protected status, hospitals have been bombed and medical facilities have been raided, endangering the lives of staff and patients. Today, no hospital in Gaza is fully functional. Those that remain partially operational are overwhelmed and severely lacking in lifesaving supplies.
Twelve of our colleagues have been killed and MSF orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Mohammed Obeid, remains detained by Israel since October 2024. In total, more than 1,500 health workers have been killed. A huge loss to their families and Gaza’s health system.
Israeli authorities are choking Gaza by imposing a total siege that deliberately cuts people off from fuel, food, water and medical supplies. Famine has already been confirmed in the Gaza Governorate, and people are dying of starvation. The little food aid that the Israeli authorities allow has been cruelly weaponised, An Israeli-run, US-funded operation, called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is responsible for killing 1,400 people and injuring 4,000 more.
Christopher Lockyear is the Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Image: Supplied
The lack of clean water is driving further suffering and disease. Last month, our teams treated 4000 cases of watery diarrhoea, potentially fatal for children already weakened by malnutrition. MSF is regularly blocked by Israeli authorities from bringing in desalination equipment and other supplies that could increase access to clean water.
Through their inaction, silence, or by directly supporting the Israeli authorities, governments around the world are complicit in this genocide. They have both a moral and legal obligation to respond, using every political, diplomatic, and economic tool available to stop the atrocities.
Christopher Lockyear is the Secretary General of Doctors Without Borders (MSF). His views does not necessarily reflect those of the Sunday Tribune or IOL.